The burden of command, p.30
The Burden of Command, page 30
part #14 of Empire Rising Series
Out of nowhere, massive blue explosions bloomed far ahead of her. Georgia had been so concentrated that they made her jump. The squadrons ahead of her had already launched their missiles! They were exploding amidst the secessionist squadron. The enemy fire coming her way slackened considerably. Georgia instinctively knew the secessionists had switched their fire onto the next wave of antimatter missiles that must have been fired. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Her grip eased ever so slightly on her flight stick. Almost at once, she was blinded as her shield flared again. Alarms screamed in her ear. Georgia swore. Something had struck her shield. Before she regained her senses, another flare glowed in front of her. A new alarm started. Her shield had just failed. The enemy had re-doubled their fire on her squadron!
Fighting a level of fear she had never realized existed before, Georgia panted heavily and her eyes bulged as she stared ahead of her, trying to sense where the next enemy shot would come from. Flak cannon rounds exploded all around her squadron. The timer appeared on her HUD. She had just six seconds until she could open fire with her missiles. Ahead of her, she saw other missiles light off their engines as they were launched by squadrons attacking just before hers. Without warning, her fighter was suddenly thrown off balance. Another flak round exploded right in front of her Hellcat. Shrapnel tore through one of her fighter’s wings. For a split-second, Georgia thought she had lost control of her Hellcat. Her body tensed as she expected follow-up fire to finish her off. Yet as she twisted her flight stick, her Hellcat responded!
Desperately pulling off every evasive maneuver she could, Georgia struggled to stay alive. At the same time, her left hand hovered over her command console. One of her antimatter missiles wasn’t responding. Either it had been disabled or ripped off by shrapnel. She didn’t have time to figure out which. Before she knew it, another beep was telling her she had just entered missile range. From her left and right, she sensed missiles being fired by her wing mates. At once, she slammed her thumb down on her flight stick’s main firing button. Just one antimatter missile disengaged from its weapons rack. Its engine kicked in and it shot ahead of Georgia’s Hellcat. As soon as it was away, she pulled up and to her left with her flight stick. The enemy fire slackened instantly as they tried to take out her missile.
Though she knew it was risky, Georgia twisted her head to watch her missile’s progress even as she continued her evasive maneuvers. She was able to count nineteen missiles racing towards the secessionist fleet. That told her two of her wing mates had been lost. Ahead of their missiles, there were several holes in the secessionist squadron’s formation. Georgia couldn’t tell at a glance, but it looked like a number of their ships had already been wiped out. Crucially, she could see a channel was open to Midas Touch. Mentally, she willed on her missile. Counter fire destroyed nearly half of what her squadron had fired. Yet hers managed to dodge everything thrown at it. She gritted her teeth as the missile closed with Midas Touch. At the last moment, however, three new ships moved in behind Teal’s vessel. Their point defense fire blasted apart two more missiles. Georgia’s survived. Yet one of the secessionist ships moved right between her missile and Midas Touch. Georgia swore. The missile was unable to dodge around it. In a bright antimatter explosion, the secessionist ship and Georgia’s missile disappeared. She cursed again even as her ship moved out of range of the secessionist point defenses. Midas Touch had survived! She had failed. Two of her wing mates had had their fighters blown apart and were possibly dead. She had let them and her father down!
*
Special forces Marine Sergeant first-class Sofia Johnston was thinking of her father as well. Her shuttle was racing towards battlestation Alpha-three. Her briefing identified it as one that had been requesting help from Teal before the industrialist had fled. That meant a fight had likely broken out between Teal’s people and some of the battlestation’s crew. That the battlestation hadn’t opened fire on the Allied Fleet suggested the crew were winning. Yet there was no way to know how much opposition they might face. Sophia knew her father would be watching the progress of the platoon of special forces marines she was in closely from his troopship. He could even be watching the live feed from her combat armor, and she wouldn’t know about it. I’m going to show you, she thought towards him as she tensed the muscles in her arms and legs. Despite how many times he had assured her he had full confidence in her abilities, Sophia knew she needed to prove herself. All through the marine boot camp and throughout her first deployment as a special forces marine, she had heard story after story of her father’s accomplishments, both before and during the Karacknid War. It had put a great weight on her to live up to her family’s reputation. But now, she was going to get the chance to show once and for all just what she could do!
“We are sixty seconds out,” the platoon Lieutenant announced over the platoon’s COM channel. “Alpha squad will take point and secure the docking hatch. Beta and Gamma flank left and right. Set up defensive positions at either end of the corridor. We’ll release our drones and get a sitrep before advancing further.”
“Acknowledged,” Sophie said along with the other squad leaders.
“Docking,” the shuttle pilot reported in what seemed like no time at all.
A slight jolt ran through the shuttle as it came to rest against the battlestation’s hull. Alpha squad was immediately on their feet and moved to the docking hatch. As soon as its lights turned green, the hatch retracted. The four marines of Alpha squad rushed through. Sophia made sure her squad was right behind them. As soon as they set foot onto the battlestation, she scanned the large open area that led to the docking hatch. It was abandoned. Immediately, she pivoted left and up the corridor that led away from the docking foyer. Moving at a fast jog, which was easily quicker than an unaugmented Human’s sprint, she led her squad to the end of the corridor. It ended at an intersection with two additional corridors leading left and right. Skidding to a halt, she poked her head out and glanced either direction. Once again, there was no sign of anyone. “Take up defensive positions,” she ordered her squad. Then she changed the COM channel. “Lieutenant, left flank secure.”
“Acknowledged, hang tight,” her Lieutenant replied. “Deploying drones now.”
Though she knew she wouldn’t be able to see them with the naked eye, Sophie couldn’t help but look back down the corridor they had come up. Thousands of nanite drones would be swarming up along it. As she expected, there was no sign of them. As her HUD began to update with the scans and the intelligence they were gathering, she knew they were already well past her position. Struggling to maintain her patience, Sophia waited for nearly a minute as the drones spread out across the battlestation. When nearly a third of the station was fully mapped out, her COM unit activated again. “All right, we’ve got three concentrations of bodies,” her platoon Lieutenant reported. “Alpha squad investigate sector three. Find out if they are friendlies or not. If they are not, only engage if you are confident you can take them. Otherwise, wait for backup.”
“We’re on the move,” Sophie said at once. “Let’s move,” she said to her squad. “Martins, take point. Rodriguez, watch left, Hamilton, right.” Taking up the rear, Sophie moved forward, trusting her squad to watch for danger. She kept half an eye on her HUD as she barked out directions to Martins. Working their way through the maze of corridors that were the battlestation’s internal compartments, they headed towards what appeared to be a large storage hangar. The drones had identified twelve humans within the hangar. From the looks of things, they were taking cover behind several containers. Sophie hoped they weren’t some kind of munitions containers. The last thing she wanted was a firefight in a battlestation’s magazine.
When they approached the hangar, Sophie didn’t take any risks. Tapping the access panel for one of the hangar doors, as soon as it swished open, her squad hurled flashbangs in. Moments after they exploded, they rushed in. No plasma bolts greeted their charge. Instead, they discovered civilian defense personnel crouched over, covering their eyes and ears. None were armed. “They can’t be Teal’s people,” Sophie said to her squad. “Be cautious however.” She wasn’t going to lower her plasma rifle just yet. Glancing around, she located the only officer in the group. Moving over to him, she reached out and gently helped him to his feet. He flinched back when he cracked an eye-open to see who had grabbed him. Then relief washed over his face when he tried opening his eyes again.
“You’re a marine!” He said. “Thank goodness. You have come to retake the battlestation?”
“We have,” Sophie said as she let him go to stand on his own feet. “What is your situation?”
“I’m Petty Officer Metaxes. The secessionists took most of the crew off when they took over the system. After Emperor Somerville’s speech, we all abandoned our posts. Lieutenant Villeneuve managed to hide some weapons from the secessionists. She took those of us who had combat training to try and retake the station. I was to lead the rest of us here to hide. Without us, the secessionists couldn’t fight the battlestation properly.”
“Where was Villeneuve going to attack?” Sophie asked.
“The gunnery deck,” Metaxes answered. “Without control of it, the secessionists wouldn’t have control over our missiles. We didn’t hear any launches so she must have been successful.”
“Okay, what about these secessionists, where are they?”
“When the fighting started, I believe they moved to secure the bridge and engineering. At least, that’s the last I heard.”
“Thank you, you have done well. We’ll take it from here. You keep your people here out of sight,” Sophie ordered. “Lieutenant,” she said as she switched COM channels. “The humans in sector two were friendlies. We’ve got intel that Loyalists have taken the main gunnery deck. That will be the group the drones have identified in sector five. It appears the secessionists still hold the bridge and engineering. We are close to engineering. Permission to advance and capture it? The drones show only seven hostiles there.”
“Permission granted,” her Lieutenant replied. “Try to keep damage to a minimum. I’m sure Emperor Somerville will want to put the station back together as soon as possible.”
“We’ll do our best,” Sophie replied. “Martins, take point again, let’s move.” As before, Sophie used her HUD and the drone’s intelligence to guide her squad quickly towards the heart of the battlestation. The engineering department itself was massive. The battlestation had three more reactors than Oblivion which were all housed in a large, open hangar. “Whatever you do, don’t shoot any of the reactors,” Sophie said to her squad. “And don’t use them for cover in case the secessionists aren’t so smart. Take only killing shots.”
When they got close to the engineering compartment, Sophie highlighted one of the access hatches. “Rodriguez, move here and launch a faint assault. Blow open the hatch if you have to. Throw in a few stun grenades and fire some shots at a bulkhead. Just aim well away from the reactors. The rest of us will breach through this second hatch,” she continued as she highlighted another hatch. “They’ll be no grenades. The drones are monitoring the location of each secessionist. Speed and surprise are all we’ll need. Everyone understand?”
After each of her squad replied in the affirmative, Sophie tapped Rodriguez’s shoulder. “Get going.” She then led her other two marines to the second access hatch. A quick query of the hatch’s control panel told her it wasn’t locked. Either the secessionist didn’t know they had been boarded yet, or they didn’t have the access codes to lock it. On her HUD, Sophie assigned targets to Martins and Hamilton. she would take three of the secessionists and they two each.
“In position,” Rodriguez reported moments later.
“Go in ten seconds,” Sophie replied. She nodded at Martins and Hamilton. When they nodded in reply to say they were ready, Sophie raised her rifle and moved over to the hatch’s control panel. Mentally, she counted down to ten. As soon as she got to zero, the faint noise of stun grenades going off on the other side of the hatch reached her ears. She waited just two more seconds, and then tapped the access hatch. As soon as it started moving, she charged with all her augmented speed. Her plasma rifle was already aimed up and to her left. Though she couldn’t visually see the secessionists, the feed from the nanite drones was telling her exactly where they were. As a man came into view, he was turning towards her, alerted by the sound of the hatch opening. Sophie’s plasma rifle was already pointing at him. Two plasma bolts dropped him before he could raise his weapon. Sophie was already pivoting towards her next target. She had to take four quick steps and then hurdle over a railing. She dropped down one deck and landed right behind her next target. The woman was covering her eyes, protecting herself from Rodrigues’ stun grenades. Sophie swung the butt of her rifle into the back of the woman’s head, knocking her unconscious. Still charging forward, she sought out her final target. He was above her, two levels above where her squad had entered the engineering chamber. Sophie skidded to a halt when he came into view. He already had a plasma rifle to his shoulder and was leaning over an observation berth, lining up a shot on Martins. Snapping her rifle to her shoulder in the blink of an eye, Sophie hesitated just a fraction of a second to zero her sight on his chest. Then one bolt erupted from her rifle. Her aim was true. The secessionist crumpled out of view before he could depress his own trigger.
A quick check of her HUD told Sophie the other four secessionists were down. The fight had lasted less than seven seconds. The secessionists hadn’t got off a single shot. “Secure all of them,” Sophie ordered. “Administer medical aid if it is needed.” She quickly surveyed the battlestation’s eight reactors. She knew she was a long way from being a nuclear physicist, yet none seemed to have any obvious signs of damage. “Lieutenant, engineering has been secured. What are your orders?”
“Good work Sergeant,” her Lieutenant replied. “You are to hold your position. We have surrounded the last secessionist. They will either surrender or be taken out. The battlestation is firmly under our control.”
“Understood Lieutenant, we will await further orders,” Sophie said. She paused for just a second before moving to help her squad secure the injured secessionists. She nodded as she surveyed her handiwork. It didn’t feel good to have killed two other humans. Yet throughout her training, it had been impressed upon her that such an outcome was a very real possibility. You couldn’t have done it any better, she thought towards her father. I hope you’re impressed.
*
James breathed a sigh of relief when reports from the battlestations started to come in. Though he knew Johnston would be unhappy if he found out, he had been keeping a close eye on his friend’s daughter. Unsurprisingly, she had handled herself admirably. As did Georgia, James reminded himself. He had been gripped by fear as she had launched her assault on Teal’s squadron. Watching her fighter twist and weave its way through the secessionist point defensive fire had filled him with a terror he had never experienced before. Yet she had come through it largely unscathed. At least, that’s what James had thought watching from a distance. When her fighter had returned to its carrier, and he had gotten a closer look at it, his terror had returned. Nearly a third of her Hellcat had been dented and scratched by shrapnel. She had been lucky she hadn’t lost an engine or worse. Still, she made it back in one piece. That’s what counts. James knew he would have to remind Georgia of that as well. He was sure she would be angry at the fact Midas Touch had escaped the clutches of her squadron. James was too. Yet he was far happier to have Georgia back safe and sound.
“That’s the last battlestation declared secured,” Davenport reported. “The orbitals are ours.”
“Very good,” James replied as he was pulled out of his thoughts. “Begin landing troops on the surface. Secure Sevres first. Then locate all the politicians and administrators who didn’t assist Garnier. We need to get order re-established as quickly as possible. I don’t want to spend any longer here than necessary. Teal is headed for New Delhi. We need to take that system before he has more time to prepare his defenses.”
“Johnston has his first wave of marines on their way through the planet’s atmosphere now,” Davenport updated. James nodded to Home Fleet’s commander.
“The secessionist squadron is approaching the mass shadow,” one of Oblivion’s sensor officers reported. The main holo display switched from showing New France’s orbitals to an image of the distant ships.
Suddenly, twenty new contacts appeared beside them. Their acceleration rates told James they were missiles. He shook his head as he clamped his teeth together. The shift gate that would have allowed Teal’s ships to head further into the former French colonies faster had refused to allow Teal to jump. In response, he had just fired upon it. James hoped Teal had given the shift gate’s crew warning so they could escape in their shuttles. Given how far away the shift gate was, Oblivion’s sensors wouldn’t be able to tell. You’re going to pay for that, James thought towards Teal as secessionist ships began to disappear into shift space. The destruction of the shift gate might slow his fleet down by half a day or so, it was unfortunate, yet James intended to be on Teal’s heels as fast as he could. And you won’t escape me a second time.
