"Sam, get back here. I need you on the command deck."
"On my way," Sam said.
Jack checked the surveillance node at the end of the command deck corridor and saw the group of Devex taking cover around the corner in the junction. If Sam was to make it back to the command deck safely, that group needed to be removed from the fight. Jack stood and called for the Marines’ attention with a wave of his hand. All eyes fell on him.
With a swift series of hand signals, Jack told the Marines to stay in their position while he advanced on the enemy position at the far end of the long, straight corridor where he would engage and destroy them.
All three Marines on the command deck shook their heads. Jack repeated his hand signal and made ready to make his attack.
Unclipping his last grenade from his belt, Jack depressed the activation circuit. The three Marines copied his action, stood, and faced the partially-closed command deck doors.
Nodding in agreement, Jack agreed to let the Marines deploy their grenades ahead of his assault. With a few quick steps toward the doorway, Jack brought his arm back and pitched the grenade far down the corridor. In a single movement, he stepped aside and pressed his back to the left side of the door. Before his grenade hit the floor, the second Marine was up to the opening and tossed his after Jack’s. The third and fourth Marines pitched their grenades in the same fashion.
And with the timings coordinated, the detonation came as one blast.
The debris roaring down the corridor came blasting through the gap, scattering fragments of Devex exo-armor and corridor composite into the command deck. Before the dust had settled, Jack pressed himself through the narrow opening between the two door panels and ran along the corridor.
The hallway was littered with the fallen Devex from the earlier attack. Jack sprinted and hurdled the first, landing lightly on his left foot before leaping again to clear a second. He landed on a third and ran over the next. Nearing the end of the corridor, Jack activated the electron bayonet at the end of his pulse rifle.
With the rifle raised and the bayonet held forward, Jack ran toward the right side of the hall where the Devex were waiting to make their next move. One risked a glance along the corridor just in time to see Jack’s electron bayonet thrust through his helmet.
Slamming into the end of the hallway, Jack faced the right side of the intersection. A Devex warrior hunched in the corridor was raising its blaster. Jack flicked up his rifle, the electron bayonet slicing through the end of the weapon. White plasma burst from the end of the broken blaster like liquid fire. The warrior dropped the gun and staggered back into another hunched Devex warrior.
Thrusting forward with his electron bayonet, Jack inched closer to the first, who fell away. Jack recovered his rifle and thrust forward again, ripping the bayonet up and out of the next Devex warrior’s shoulders. As the warrior fell aside, Jack was squared with two more, their blasters aimed at Jack with only one meter separating them. Too far for Jack to thrust.
Staring into the helmet of the nearest Devex, Jack imagined all that had happened to bring him to this corridor, to the end of this battle, and to the end of his time as a Marine. He remembered running over the grassy prairies of his youth, the difficult training he'd been through to become a Marine, and his rise through the ranks. He remembered every Marine he had known, those who had fallen, and those who would go on after him.
With a battle cry rising in his throat and his muscles tensing for one final thrust, the two Devex warriors standing before him fell aside under a hail of pulse rifle fire. Jack instinctively dropped to the deck and pressed himself to the side of the corridor. As the Devex fell, Jack looked to see a small group of Marines running toward him.
"Jack, on your feet."
Climbing to his feet and deactivating the electron bayonet, Jack recognized the voice of Sam Torent.
"Jack, fall back. We've got Devex after us. Hundreds of them."
Jack urged Sam and his small group to hurry and run to him. Jack waited at the corner of the two corridors and waved the Marines down the long hallway toward the command deck.
"Go, go, go!" Jack waved the Marines on. Sam slowed as he came near.
"Get going, Jack," Sam said. He grabbed Jack and pushed him toward the command deck.
As Jack was bundled around the corner, he saw the first Devex warrior turn into the end of the intersection in pursuit. Sam raised his pulse rifle and fired. Jack grabbed his friend and pulled him around the corner and into cover. A stream of white energy bullets raced by like a stream of heavy, horizontal rain, every drop fizzing like white fire.
Jack pulled Sam. Sam pulled Jack. The pair pulled and pushed each other along the corridor back to the command deck, laughing at their narrow escape. With the end of the corridor only a few paces away, Sam turned sideways and raced through the narrow gap, colliding heavily with one side of the door. Jack turned sideways and led with his shoulder aimed at the narrow gap, and as he glanced back down the corridor, his pulse rifle raised in his right arm, he saw the Devex warriors turn from the cross corridor into the hallway leading to the command deck.
He fell into the command deck as the Devex bullets raked the walls and slammed into the doors. Lying on the floor, half inside the command deck, Jack fired. He lay on his back and scurried backwards, laying down heavy return fire. He was pulled into cover.
"Guess you got us cornered good and proper now, Jack?" Sam looked down at him and pulled Jack to his feet easily with his Mech arm.
"Maintain the fire," Jack said. "Two Marines that side, two Marines that side." Jack pointed to either side of the narrow opening, the door panels still smoldering from the previous attack. "If they try a forward assault, I want you to fill up that corridor with fallen Devex warriors. If fire won't hold them back, maybe their own dead will. Heavy fire, Marines."
Jack looked at his wrist-mounted holostage. He accessed the civilian transport’s surveillance network and checked how many Devex ships were now around the swamp planet. He detected a new signal, on the edge of surveillance range. A faint signal was received by his tactical suit’s communication system.
The Scorpio had arrived.
The Scorpio command deck was a buzz of activity. Command deck officers were all at their consoles, busy and focused on their specific tasks. Captain Pretorius stood in front of the main holostage, his second-in-command, Commander Chou, at his side.
Racing toward the inner system, the Scorpio was flanked by two frigates and a squadron of Blades.
The frigates and fighters raced ahead to meet the Devex Raiders that swept up from the planet surface to meet the new threat, but the warship continued its descent through the planet’s thick atmosphere. The puncture arms were partially deployed, poised and ready to grip the civilian transport in its deadly embrace.
The Blades and frigates opened fire with every available weapon. Hail and high-energy lasers slammed into the raiders that raced to meet them.
Pretorius targeted the warship. He could deal with the Raiders in his own time, but the warship had to be stopped now or all the people would be lost.
"Make ready all combat drone pods," Pretorius said.
Commander Chou checked the targeting calculations. A command deck officer called out that all combat drone pods were ready.
Tugging his cuffs, Pretorius gave the command.
"Fire all tubes."
The combat drones dropped from the Scorpio, and their rockets kicked to life, flinging them across space toward the swamp planet and the Devex warship descending through the atmosphere.
The combat drones raced past the battle between the raiders and the Blades and frigates, on toward the swamp planet and the warship. The first combat drone collapsed its anti-matter containment field, exposing its deadly warhead to the outer hull of the warship.
The huge fireball created by the drone slammed into the massive ship, pressing the forward section down suddenly. And then the line of combat drones detonated one after another all
along the warship’s upper hull.
"Scan for damage," Pretorius said, walking back to his command chair. He climbed up into the chair and activated the communication console on his armrest.
Commander Chou zoomed the main holostage image in on the Devex warship. The outer hull near the rear of the massive ship was smashed, venting gas and plasma into the green clouds of the swamp planet.
Pretorius looked in satisfaction as the warship began to retreat. It banked away to port and raced through the dark green clouds, blasting out into orbit and disappearing from view on the far side of the planet.
"Commander Forge, this is the Scorpio. Do you copy?"
Pretorius leaned forward in his chair and looked at the holoimage of the civilian transport on the planet below. The Scorpio entered geostationary orbit above the civilian transport. The faint reply from the ship below came over the communication panel on Pretorius's armrest.
"This is Forge. Good to see you, Scorpio. We have fifty thousand sleeping civilians down here who don't know it yet, but they are happy to see you too."
Pretorius smiled and leaned back in his chair. If anyone could pull off the impossible, it was Jack Forge.
"I have orders from Fleet Command to deliver an engineering team to the civilian transport. And I have a relief squad of Marines ready to take over from you, Major. I think you and your people have done enough down there. I'm sending a tac boat down to collect you now. Pretorius out."
Looking at the main holostage, Pretorius saw the raiders turn and flee. The frigates held position while the Blades continued pursuit, high-energy lasers and hail cannons seeing the Devex off.
Pretorius climbed down from his command chair. "You have the command deck, Mr. Chou. Inform me as soon as Major Forge is aboard."
Being back aboard the Scorpio was the closest feeling to being home that Jack had these days. Every corridor in the huge ship was so familiar to him. He passed the Marine deck where he'd assembled with his troops on so many occasions. He passed his old squad barracks from the time when he had been a new recruit and squad leader. Now, he walked toward the forward section of the destroyer and the command deck.
Commander Chou directed Jack to the officers’ lounge when he stepped onto the command deck. He walked straight to the lounge and found the captain standing at the small side cabinet pouring a heavy tumbler of Amber.
"Good work, Jack." Pretorius turned around and stepped over to him, holding out the tumbler with the dark liquor at the bottom.
Jack shook his head in refusal and wrinkled his nose. What Jack really needed was a heavy ration block and a shower.
"The people on that ship, Captain?"
Pretorius took a sip of the harsh liquor and then placed the tumbler on the small side table.
"A group of engineers are down there now and will have the ship ready to fly within the hour. We will rejoin the fleet as soon as they have completed the work. The Devex have all but cleared their people from this region. The Skalidions are moving in on a new front. They are closing in on the fleet. All Fleet craft are being assigned to a rearguard to protect the civilian transports. We are sending the fleet across an interstellar void and leaving this region. The Skalidions can have it all."
The message over the lounge communicator cut over the captain.
"Captain to the command deck. Priority message from the Scepter."
Following the captain out of the officers’ lounge and back onto the command deck, Jack noticed all officers looking nervously at the captain. The holoimage of the admiral appeared on the holostage.
"New orders, Captain Pretorius," the admiral said as Pretorius stepped up to the holostage. "The Scorpio will return immediately."
"But what about those people down there?" Jack said. "The Skalidions wanted them alive. They are coming to get them right now."
"Major Forge," the admiral said. "This is not your call. The engineering team will have the transport ready to fly. They will have their chance to escape this region, but only if we give it to them. The Skalidion are moving in on the fleet. The Devex have abandoned us. We need to give the civilian fleet a chance to run. I need all ships in the line."
"We are on our way, Admiral," Pretorius said. He instructed the command deck crew to set the heading and activate the main drive.
"Captain," Jack said, turning to Pretorius, "let me stay with the group of Marines and protect the engineers and the civilian transport."
"Negative, Major. I need you to head up the Scorpio Battalion. If we are going into a fight, I'm going to need you on board." The captain placed a hand on Jack's shoulder "You are needed here, Jack. Go and grab a bite to eat, rest up if you can. We'll be taking our position in the line before the end of the watch."
Jack nodded and marched off the command deck toward his quarters. A shower, a bite to eat, and he'd be back in action against the Skalidion.
11
Jack woke suddenly in his quarters, slumped over his small desk. The alarm sounding throughout the ship alerted all crew that the Scorpio was taking its place in battle formation.
Sprinting through the corridors, sleep forgotten, Jack raced toward the command deck.
The main holostage showed the Scorpio moving into position. At the center of the formation was the huge carrier, the Scepter. Surrounding the Scepter were squadrons of Blades, and further out from the Blades were the frigates and corvettes, fast and powerful weapons platforms. All were positioned and standing ready for action.
And in the front line, the destroyers.
The destroyers of the fleet were arranged in a line bow to stern. The Canis, the Aquarius, and finally, coming into position in the center, the Scorpio. Each had their port-side hail cannon batteries presented toward the front where the Skalidions were coming from. The destroyers would slow the Skalidion attack, but Jack could not believe that the three destroyers could stop them.
Standing at the holostage and studying the formation, Jack realized the power of the combined fleet. It was a formidable arsenal of hardware. Even though it was a mere shadow of the once-powerful fleet that had consisted of three massive carriers and a dozen destroyers, it could still strike awe into Jack.
Sitting in his command chair, Captain Pretorius was busy communicating with the other destroyer captains and the Scepter. The command deck officers were all busy, but Jack could tell they were not too busy that the nerves did not show through the slight cracks developing in the overworked and overwhelmed personnel.
Looking up to Pretorius, Jack could see his old friend and mentor showed no signs of stress. He was focused. He was calm. He was determined and ready to fight.
Pretorius looked down at Jack at the holostage.
"Sleep well, Major?" Pretorius smiled.
"The civilian transport?" Jack said, remembering the ship he had left behind.
"Back with the others. The passengers are still asleep, I hear. They'll never know what you did for them. Is the battalion ready, Major?"
Jack nodded. Before he’d drifted to sleep at his desk, he had instructed his officers to deploy the battalion throughout the ship. The Marines were positioned at vital locations, ready to repel any Skalidion that tried to infiltrate.
The admiral appeared on the main holostage, a priority message to all ships. The image of the Scorpio in its position amongst the fleet shrank away while the admiral dominated. Jack could see the old admiral was breaking under the strain. Even over the slightly-distorted holoimage of the admiral, Jack could see the slight signs of stress—a nervous smile here, a twitching eye muscle there, the furrowed brow and the permanent curl of his lip.
"Hear this, all ships. Skalidion fighter swarm incoming. Tactical command will now pass to Group Captain Tanaka. The civilian fleet is away and heading toward the interstellar void. We will hold the Skalidion here. We will beat them back, join the civilian fleet, and leave this wretched region of space behind. Good luck to us all."
It seemed clear that the admiral was suffering under the strain, bu
t Group Captain Tanaka was a resourceful and competent battle leader. Jack had no doubt that she would use the fleet effectively.
The image of Admiral Henson faded to be replaced by Captain Tanaka.
"Defensive hail curtain deploy on my mark. All support warships move up into the destroyers’ line. The fleet will make ready to redeploy to these coordinates. Tanaka out."
Jack watched the holostage as Tanaka’s image faded and the fleet reappeared. Commander Chou zoomed the image out to show the full extent of the surveillance sphere around the fleet. Moving in at high speed toward the Scorpio’s port side was the Skalidion fighter swarm. Several astro units away below the fleet’s starboard side was a new star and protoplanetary disk. In that chaotic space of swirling dust, gas, and rock lay the redeployment coordinates Tanaka had set.
Captain Pretorius activated a ship-wide address. Jack heard his voice echoing over the communication notes throughout the ship and from the captain himself sitting up on his command chair.
"All batteries make ready to fire kinetic hail defensive curtain. All sections make ready for high-speed redeployment to new coordinates. Navigation, double-check we are not going to be flying into a protoplanet when we get into that system. Pretorius out."
Jack looked at the holoimage of the advancing swarm. It was a huge elliptical mass of the small fighter craft that Jack had seen in action only recently. They darted about within the swarm and advanced as one, closing the distance to the fleet rapidly.
They closed in on the point where the kinetic hail defensive curtain would be deployed. Jack looked up to Pretorius. The captain tugged his cuffs and then calmly issued the fire order.
The port -side hail cannon battery of the Scorpio erupted as one and delivered a huge mass of kinetic hail. The two other destroyers in the line fired simultaneously. The smaller frigates and corvettes fired their hail cannon and added a small but significant amount of hail to the defensive curtain.
Betrayal (Jack Forge, Lost Marine Book 6) Page 8
