Battleship Furiosa Page 18

  Surely not?

  Another of them bent down to check the body of the fallen soldier, the rest moved out into the corridor. The second group spread out, while two more dragged the body to one side. Then a flash at the far end of the corridor caught their attention. Svana used it as her moment and broke from cover, temporarily blocking the line of sight from the pilots to the militia. Her dash increased to a run as a Byotai security patrol entered the corridor and was quickly suppressed by gunfire from the militia. One soldier was knocked down before they were able to fall back around the corner. Several of the militia gave chase, and all shouted excitedly, pumped up with blood lust.

  "Opinn eld!"

  Matilda and Dogg opened fire, but were only able to manage a handful of shots due to Svana blocking their view. Valdis cursed at being unable to fire, and Nate lifted his own autorevolver to find the same problem.

  "Svana! Behind you!" Nate yelled.

  The young Byotai pilot hesitated, perhaps because of the language barrier. Then something inside her clicked on. She dropped to the ground, sliding on one side, and then looked backwards. At the same time, she lifted her Krokspjot and fired. Nate had never seen anything like it as the pilot skidded along the floor while blasting away. The introduction to the weapon by Prince Kratha had not been wrong, and he watched in astonishment as the super-heated bolts struck the backs of the militia soldiers. Two fell down screaming, and the others scattered in panic.

  "Hit them hard!" Valdis cried in clear, perfectly accented English.

  Nate stepped out in a wide stance, doing his best to ignore the wild shots coming towards them. Had he thought about it, he would have realised that even a single hit would put him out of the fight, or more likely kill him. In the circumstances, none of this seemed to make any difference, though. A thermal bolt missed his face by centimetres and embedded in the wall to his side. As it struck, it sent up a cloud of sparks, hissing and fizzling like an angry bug.

  Now!

  Nate took careful aim and fired. One shot missed, but he was sure the second struck one in the shoulder. As he pulled the trigger a third time, another pair emerged from the doorway and dropped to the ground. A third stepped past them and aimed with a large firearm resting on his hip. It was then that Nate realised that some of them were wearing masks, and those that weren't were placing clothes or material over their eyes and mouths.

  What's happening?

  One of the guns fired and sent a powerful blast into the corridor. Fletcher flexed backwards and slid along the floor. Nate twisted back and moved to help just as another blast struck where he'd been standing. The weapon left a wide mark on the wall but did little damage. Cassandra and Billy helped lift Ensign Fletcher to his feet, but he stumbled and fell back down. Nate couldn't see a major injury, but he was clearly in pain. Valdis spotted Nate moving and lifted her arm.

  "Nate, get back!"

  He didn't hesitate and yanked himself back just as three thermal bolts whistled past and embedded in the hall. Cassandra bent over Fletcher and roared at him. She was not good at shouting, and her raised pitch crackled her voice into something bordering on a cry.

  "Spiv, on your feet, now!"

  He rose to his feet, still groaning from the impact. At the same time, a canister hit the ground and rolled into the hallway

  "Grenade!" Matilda yelled.

  Nate didn't have time to see what had happened after firing two shots, and pulled back to the wall. He'd been around such weapons already and lived in fear of the indiscriminate damage caused by them. The device flashed, but instead of a searing blast of heat and debris, the unit instead sent a great burst of grey smoke into the area.

  "Damn it!"

  If they'd been wearing their full PDS gear, including their helmets, it would have been easy to switch to a different vision mode. Now they were engulfed in the choking cloud that made breathing next to impossible. Even worse, the smoke completely blocked their line of sight.

  "Get to the fighter deck, now!" Nate shouted.

  All nine pilots broke ranks and rushed back into the corridor. Shots flashed back and forth, but with the smoke it was almost impossible to hit anything.

  "Run!"

  Nate couldn't tell who was speaking, and it was not really necessary anymore. The entire group broke out into a fast run as even more shots struck nearby. By the time they reached the corner and moved out of sight, the place had turned into a warzone. Ensign Fletcher stopped for a moment, but Nate and Billy grabbed him by each arm and dragged him ahead.

  "No, don't stop."

  On they went, further inside the ship until to their relief they made it to the passageway alongside the fighter deck. The windows to their right were blacked out, though it was hard to tell if that was due to being deactivated, or if the lights on the fighter deck were simply off-line. Nate checked the wall, but Valdis kept moving until finally stopping at a wide gap.

  "In here."

  Without waiting, she activated the mechanical door and waited for it to unwind its lock. It took a moment, and that gave the rest of them enough time to catch up with her. Finally, it slid open and revealed the dark open space.

  "Weird," said Billy, "Why switch it all off?"

  "Maybe they're hiding," suggested Matilda.

  Valdis spoke to her comrades, and Dogg pulled out her portable computer to connect to the ship’s systems. She answered and then looked to Nate.

  "A few seconds, then I'll have the light back on."

  Nate nodded and signalled for the others to stay where they were.

  "Be ready, and don't come in till we know it's safe."

  Billy looked agitated.

  "Then hurry, I don't like it out here."

  "Got it."

  Nate moved alongside Valdis, and after giving her a nod, the two stepped inside. Both held their firearms in two hands and kept them close to their bodies. Nate had learnt this from the marines during training, and he could only assume it was the same for the Byotai pilots. The last thing either of them wanted was to be disarmed as they moved into the blackness. Losing their weapons would be bad enough, but having them turned against each other would be so much worse.

  "Follow me," said Valdis.

  Nate stepped right behind her, and once through the doorway they separated, Valdis heading left and Nate moving to the right. Nate scanned right and left, looking for signs of the soldiers, but every single light was off, with nothing but the dim glow from the double doorway leading inside. He stopped and let his eyes adjust for a moment, but Valdis kept moving, before stopping and gasping.

  "What is it?" Nate whispered.

  He kept his gun raised, half expecting to be rushed at. There were three more rounds in his pistol, and with each passing second, he wished he'd loaded more during their flight from the battle.

  What is that?

  Nate's eyesight was already adjusting, and he could see dark shapes on the ground. At the same time, the warning klaxons sounded, and this time they were even louder than before. Something flickered to the right, and both he and Valdis spun around as one light flickered to life. Others followed it, and as they illuminated the fast open space, Nate dropped to his knees and retched, fighting the instinct to vomit.

  "What's going on?" Billy yelled.

  Nate's friend rushed inside, and the others followed, only to stop in a loose crescent and stare at the carnage. Nate spat on the floor, trying to clear his dry and painful throat before shaking his head. Strewn along the floor were dozens of bodies, all armoured, and many riddled with holes. Some still shuddered as the heat from the now red-hot thermal bolts hissed and crackled in the armour.

  "The animals! Look what they did."

  Billy lifted his hand to cover his mouth as he realised that the bodies were all too familiar.

  "They are ours."

  Nate moved to the first and rolled over the Marine.

  "They must have been surprised. Look, their visors are still open."

  Matilda checked another a
nd jumped as a bolt singed the left forearm plate on her PDS Naval armour. She instinctively stepped back, letting the Marine's limb drop back down to the floor. As it moved, she noticed the ship markings and began shaking her head.

  "They are 3rd Squad from ANS Wolverine."

  Billy looked in the same place on another and sighed.

  "This one is 1st Squad, ANS Boston."

  Nate lifted the back of his hand to his face and wiped at a thin layer of perspiration. It wasn't much, but more than enough to make him feel uncomfortable, especially in the presence of so much death. Matilda checked another and then called back to him.

  "This one didn't even get to fire a shot."

  Cassandra remained where she was, but the look on her face as she stared at Valdis was ice cold.

  "What's going on? Those bolts are from Byotai weapons, and our people were here just minutes ago, training with your people."

  Valdis took a step back but did the sensible thing and lowered her sidearm. Svana stepped alongside her and spoke in her own tongue.

  "What's she saying?" Cassandra asked.

  Nate could see her beginning to raise her own pistol, so he moved across the floor, careful to avoid the bodies. He stepped in front of her arm, shielding the weapon from Valdis. Nate opened his mouth to speak, but the loud tone of a Byotai officer shouting on the loudspeakers drowned him out. It was an angry tone, and had an instant effect on the four Byotai pilots. Nate looked to his friends, and then to Valdis. As the sound stopped, it was replaced by yet more grinding alarms from the klaxons.

  "It is Honorius. He says escaped prisoners and militia have been smuggled inside by traitor soldiers."

  Matilda seemed to relax for some reason, and Nate lifted an eyebrow in confusion. She noticed him watching and pointed to the bodies.

  "They killed our people, and then let in these militia and convicts, probably on the landing decks."

  Billy scurried about as he kept searching the bodies until finally grabbing a carbine. He lifted it to his side and ran through the checks that had been drilled into them by Sergeant Nál. Once sure it was operational and safe, he turned to Nate.

  "Catch!"

  With a careful throw, he hurled the weapon. Nate took a step forward, caught it, and then checked the mechanism himself. It was an L52 Mark V Assault carbine, the standard front-line weapon used in the Marine Corps. Billy continued searching the bodies and handing out equipment until all of them were carrying a mixture of L52 carbines and their service pistols. Valdis was the last of them to take a weapon. She refused the carbines and waited until Nate located a thermal shotgun.

  "Must have come from the Byotai," said Billy as he passed it over.

  Valdis performed a fast series of checks without even having to look at the weapon. It was a similar size to the carbine, but with thick cooling rails on the sides, and a venting bracket along the barrel.

  "It's not a military weapon."

  She rolled it to the side and showed them the markings.

  "This is prison issue, for the guards."

  "So, what now?" asked Cassandra.

  Nate pressed his Secpad and examined several moving images while the others prepared themselves. Valdis licked her upper mouth, and Nate for some reason stepped forward with the carbine held in front of his chest. He looked to his friends, and then to the four Byotai that now seemed as much part of the unit as even Billy was.

  "I say we get to Honorius before these scum do."

  "What about our marines?" Billy asked, nodding towards the fallen warriors.

  Nate looked saddened by the question but still took a step towards the doorway.

  "We can mourn them later. Right now, we've got work to do."

  "What do you mean?"

  Nate removed the safety on the carbine and powered up the charging unit. He tried to look confident and could only hope that he didn't look like a kid with a toy gun trying to sound tough. He opened his mouth to speak, but the rumble of explosions deep inside the ship sent a shudder through the floor. The vibration was so great that the lights flickered for several seconds. As the sound subsided, the noise of gunfire increased.

  "We need to get to the General," said Valdis.

  She made for the door, but Nate grabbed her arm.

  "Not yet, not with just us. We need friends."

  The Byotai looked confused, but when Nate tapped his Secpad bracelet, a crackling image of a warrior appeared. It was a bit of a mess but soon cleared enough to make out the face.

  "We've secured the medical deck. Have you made contact with Lieutenant Karvik's marines?"

  "Sergeant Nál?" Billy asked.

  Nate nodded.

  "We found Karvik at the fighter deck. They were all dead, ambushed by turncoat Byotai. They’ve taken control of the hangar deck and are spreading fast."

  "I see," said the Sergeant.

  Her tone was calm, yet clearly disappointed.

  "Ensign, the ambush was well planned. The enemy hid troop pods inside parts of the facility. The explosion was a cover to get them onto the outer deck. My estimate is upwards of five hundred, many of them from the prison. They’ve taken us by surprise and covered much ground."

  She grunted, and the imagery shifted as a volley of gunfire drowned out her voice. When she returned, her face was even angrier than before.

  "Ensign, get you and the pilots to the medical deck. I need assistance. We have to regain full control the ship before we breach the Rift."

  Her nostrils flared.

  "There is no turning back now. So success is our only option."

  "Understood, Sergeant. We're on the way."

  He then looked to the small group of young pilots.

  "I managed to get through on the short-range peer-to-peer network."

  "Nice," said Matilda.

  Nate grinned, happy that the tech wizard of the group approved. He then looked to Valdis.

  "Do you know another way to the medical deck? We can't go back into the corridor, the place is crawling with fighters."

  She paused, but just for a moment.

  "You okay climbing?"

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Byotai Imperial Battleship 'Furiosa'

  Serpentis System Rift, Deadlands

  24 December 2472

  They'd made it seven more floors and then stopped at the most significant feature found so far. The staircase opened out into a massive platform, its sides flanked with bare walls. It was a large space, perhaps a hall or plaza at some point in the distant past. The ship was an antique, and this might easily have been a throne room, or something else equally grand. Now one side was full of discarded metal crates covered in a layer of dust. An ancient intercom or computer control lay half-broken on the wall, its wire splintered and abandoned. Metal poles ran down from the ceiling, and large metal brackets pushed up to the ceiling.

  "This place has seen better days," said Ensign Fletcher with a groan.

  Cassandra looked at him and helped him move to a step to sit down. His bruised and aching body still seemed to be causing him pain, and she worried he might be suffering form internal injuries, or at the very least broken or fractured ribs. Nate moved over to his other side and bent down. He looked carefully at the thin pilot's face.

  "You're getting pale. How are you feeling?"

  He coughed once and turned to Nate.

  "I'm okay, just feeling a bit sick. The impact knocked the air out of me. I thought I was dying."

  Cassandra gave Nate an odd look. His brow tightened as he tried to understand what she was trying to say. Fletcher tapped his chest with his left arm.

  "My ribs are fine. It knocked the wind out of me, and I can still feel it. Just give me a few more minutes."

  Valdis heard this and walked directly up to him.

  "No. No wait. We move, or we die."

  Nate opened his mouth to speak, but to his surprise the Byotai pilot lifted her hand to her mouth and turned around. She lifted her pistol and checked the settings before
whispering, "I can hear something. Stay quiet and keep moving."

  There was a single door leading to the left, and to the right the staircase continued up into the guts of the ship. The door was half open, and a trail marked Byotai boots on the ground. A long broken computer display covered the left wall, and fingers had dragged lines along the dust. Nate moved closer to inspect it and immediately bumped into an impatient Billy.

  "This is taking forever," complained Billy, "How long till we reach the right deck?"

  Nate looked to his friend and helped him climb over three broken steps that were now little more than rubble.

  "I know. You can hear the fight out there, though. Do you want to get stuck in the middle of it?"

  He looked back to point below them and immediately spotted movement at the door. He clicked with his mouth and then shifted to the side of the step.

  "Somebody is coming."

  Valdis was already waiting, and of them all was the first to point her weapon in the direction of the sound. Even so, Nate was sure the young pilot looked nervous. Her hand shook a fraction, so she moved another hand to join it. The doorway flickered yellow, and then a shape appeared.

  "There!" Matilda whispered.

  She pointed her carbine to the doorway, and Nate stepped back, lifting his own weapon just as a figure rushed inside. Nate was halfway to pulling the trigger before he realised it was a wounded Byotai crewman. Dogg caught him and held him upright, just as another five ran in behind him. They scattered onto the stairs, each panting with exhaustion. The last to enter ducked to the side of the door and lifted his Seax pistol. He wore the uniform of an officer and looked familiar. Unlike the others, he had no problem in facing off against his attackers and pointed his pistol with an unshaken hand into the distance.

  Who is that? Nate thought.

  The officer spoke quickly, much too quickly for his voice to be understood by the translators carried by Nate and his friends. Valdis placed a hand on Nate's shoulder and explained.

  "They are coming. Be ready."

  The sound of shouting and heavy footsteps filled the distant passageway. Nate felt his chest heaving, and he looked back at his friends. Cassandra looked terrified, yet her carbine was raised and her face as determined as it ever had been.