Authors: Nick S. Thomas
"I have no intention of doing so, Lieutenant. Let's not forget who and what we are. We are the victors of the greatest war in human history. We have fought off everything that has been thrown at us. Man your post. If we get boarded, you'll more than have your hands full."
Never having been in space, Samson had not witnessed the brutal boarding actions of the alien forces. Though he had been thoroughly informed and trained in the response to such actions, of which many other marines had become familiar with. Samson was well aware that the Deveron once carried Colonel Taylor and his Inter-Allied force. It was a lot to live up to.
"I'll have five marines posted to the bridge for the duration," he replied.
Ryan acknowledged with gratitude. The marines had substantially more armour and firepower than was being issued to the crew. Their compact Reitech carbines were a big step up from anything pre-war, but the full battle rifle was still a far more potent weapon.
The Marine officer rushed off to organise himself. None of them had yet seen any enemy, but they could all feel their presence was imminent.
Why on Earth does it have to be now?
Ryan asked himself.
He had always expected to be followed through the Gateway when they made their retreat from the fateful mission to Tau Ceti. He had prayed they had reached a stalemate, but clearly that was too much to hope for.
"Monitor our comms channels. I want to know if the jammer shielding is working."
Going dark everytime they engaged the enemy had cost a lot of lives. Reiter and the other military scientists believed they had devised a solution, but as yet, it was untested in combat. Their defences were as prepared as they could be. Now they could do nothing but wait and watch.
Lights flashed around the Gateway as it began to spin faster and faster. The swirling spiral of light erupted at its core, and the Gateway was finally open. For a few seconds nothing happened, and they wondered if there was anything coming through at all. It was too much to hope for.
The hulking bow of a huge enemy warship pierced the light. The intimidating prow quickly expanded out from the Gateway, revealing the superstructure. It was familiar to them all as an enemy heavy warship. Ryan felt his heart almost stop. His mouth was dry and a bitter taste was in his mouth. His head began to pulsate like a horrible migraine attack. A few drops of sweat dropped down from his scalp. One dropped into his right eye and the other his mouth. The salt only made the bitter taste in his mouth worse, and his eye felt the sting.
It was an unavoidable reaction to seeing the fearsome enemy once again after having hoped and believed he'd never have to do so again. He wiped his brow with the sleeve of his uniform. The previously spotless grey tunic was now smeared with the sweat stain, but it was the least of his problems. He could not let the rest of the crew see the fear within him. Not only that, if he wanted to survive, he needed to have his wits about him.
Seconds later, other enemy vessels began to break through into the Solar System. They were just a few hundred metres from the Gateway when they hit the wall of mines that had been laid as a defensive measure for this very circumstance. They could not destroy the Gateway, but neither did they believe they would ever want to use it again. The minefield blocked off the entire entrance to all but a hidden path for small research vessels to get through.
The intimidating enemy vessel triggered a dozen mines that tore massive holes in its hull. Finally as it hit the fifteenth mine, the engines lost power, and it was crippled. Still with forward momentum, it continued to be pummelled by the wall of mines until it was nothing more than a floating hulk. The Captain wondered for a moment if they had hostile intentions. They had come through the Gateway and hit them first before anyone could know their purpose.
Years of warfare had taught all of humanity that the sight of Krycenaeans meant you were in grave danger, and that immediate violent action against such was your duty. And yet Ryan's time amongst the two aliens in Taylor's unit had made him wonder otherwise.
None of it matters anymore. It’s too much to hope they came in peace, anyway.
Ryan's crew gave out a cheer at the defeat of the first enemy ship, but it was a short-lived celebration. Even while the hulking enemy vessel continued to ignite further mines, the next wave was opening fire. A signal came up on screen from the Collingwood. It was a surprise to them all to see their comms were still working in the presence of the enemy, but they did not have time to celebrate.
"You are clear to fire in your own time. Give those alien bastards hell!" yelled the Commodore.
Ryan turned to his crew.
"You heard him, fire!"
The bridge crew of the Deveron were still stunned by the re-emergence of the enemy. Many were fresh recruits who’d replaced their fallen comrades after the Tau Ceti expedition. Vast light pulsed through space as the Collingwood bombarded the incoming ships.
The alien fleet could only come through the Gateway a few at a time, but there seemed no shortage of them. The first five were obliterated in the opening two minutes of the battle, but they were still gaining ground. A pulse smashed into the bow of the Deveron, shaking the crew violently. Damage reports were coming in quickly, but their guns were still firing.
Ryan could do nothing now but watch and hope that their firepower could stop the enemy in their tracks. There were no tactics here. It was a numbers game. He turned to see several crew dispensing armour and weapons to those on the bridge. He stepped up and grasped a rifle from one of them and slung it over him.
They were all feeling terrifyingly vulnerable to the enemy assault, and noone would want to come face to face with one of the alien soldiers without a weapon to hand. Ryan wished he'd had been issued an Assegai, which he had heard used to such effect, but they were not issue equipment to Navy crews. He turned back to the viewing screen to see the fire increasing in intensity.
Despite the immense amount of fire being lashed on the incoming fleet, it was not enough to bring them to a halt. Floating wrecks tumbled past the human fleet as many more took their place. A massive light burst impacted off to their one side as a barrage of fire smashed one of the human cruisers. Ryan could see lights going out as the stricken ship lost power. He could only hope some of the crew could get to the escape shuttles as there was nothing to be done for them.
"How are they still coming at us?" asked Wayans.
Ryan shook his head. He had no answer. He had seen the ferocity with which the enemy fought before, but he had also seen them broken and flee. Now they seemed to exhibit an unbreakable will to succeed, no matter the cost. They were back and tougher than ever.
"We invaded their homelands. Remember how hard we fought back when they did it to us?" the Captain responded.
"Hardly the same thing, Sir. They started this war."
"I'm not sure it matters anymore the reasons why or who did what," he muttered.
Ryan fell silent once again. Most of the bridge crew could now do little but watch the carnage unfold before them.
"Sir! We have incoming assault craft!" yelled Wayans.
"Divert all fire to them! We can't let them get through!"
The Deveron's guns roared, and one of the craft was cut in half from the salvo. Fighters from the Collingwood approached in formation to try and stop them, but even as the first few craft were immobilised or destroyed, more pushed forward. A dozen of the assault craft burst through some of the wreckage, heading directly for the Collingwood. The fighters quickly came around, but they had little time to stop them.
Half of the enemy craft were blown apart, but the others smashed into the hull of their flagship.
"God save us," whispered Ryan.
He turned his attention back to the viewing screen and saw a salvo of enemy fire heading their way. Just a second later, the Deveron was rocked violently by multiple impacts, and the Captain was thrown off his feet. His head smashed into the Captain's chair. Despite being saved from death by his helmet, he instantly blacked out.
Ryan regained consciousness to see sparks and smoke emanating from the console at the front of the bridge. Crews were fighting to put out the flames. He could tell he had been out for just a minute or two, but it was still disorientating. His head throbbed so much it felt as if it were going to burst out of the helmet. Two of the crew were seriously hurt and were being attended to.
A hand slapped down on his shoulder and wrenched him around. His neck was limp, and his head flopped over before recovering. Wayans was kneeling over him and asking something, but his hearing was still dulled. Within just a few seconds it recovered, but Wayans had already resulted to shouting louder after realising he couldn't understand.
"Are you okay, Sir?"
The ear splitting shout hurt his ears further, making his eyes wince. The coarse and acrid electrical burning smell filled his nostrils, and for a moment, he wished to be dead and have it all over with. He nodded in response to Wayans’ question. He reached forward and hauled him back onto his feet.
"Are you with us, Sir?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm still here," he finally replied.
The ship was rocked again by a smaller impact that Ryan barely weathered. His knees wobbled, and he was feeling sick from the disorientation.
"Somebody give me an update!"
Wayans scrambled from one of the wounded crew to his console. Their viewing screen was down, and the Lieutenant was doing his utmost to get it back up and running. As he tapped away on the controls, he started to convey the info he had.
"The Manchester is destroyed. Damage is being reported throughout the fleet, and the Collingwood is fighting at multiple breaches in their hull, Sir."
"Are we holding?"
"At present, Sir, yes, but there seems to be no end to the enemy fleet coming through the Gateway."
Lights flickered as the display monitor came back online. Ryan gasped at the sight. The lights and glow of the revolving Gateway were barely visible anymore over the mass of enemy ships. None of them were in any doubt now that victory could not be had there today.
"Put me through to the Commodore," said Ryan.
Clark's face came up on a screen projection beside that of the ensuing battle.
"Sir, we can't stay here. Much longer and they'll roll over us," stated Ryan.
"Our orders are to defend this location at all costs, Captain. At all costs! You do your duty, Clark out."
The screen cut off, and Ryan was left with an even more bitter taste in his mouth than that caused by the fumes of the recent fires.
"Sir, we've got incoming assault pods!"
Ryan looked to the screen at the small craft rushing for their position, far smaller than the large rams that had crashed into the Collingwood. They could carry just five to ten Mechs each, but they were still every bit as terrifying.
"Shoot the bastards down. We can't let them get aboard!"
The Deveron's guns raged at the wing of drop pods heading their way. The first salvo destroyed four outright, but another half a dozen were still closing. The rapid speed at which they approached only gave enough time for one more rushed salvo. Three of the pods smashed into the hull of the Deveron.
"This is Ryan to Samson. We have multiple hull breaches."
"On it, Sir," he quickly replied over their comms.
Small explosions erupted throughout the ship as the enemy blasted the rest of their way onboard. Ryan turned to look at the entrance to the bridge, half expecting to see the Mechs stomping towards him. The marines stood confidently at the doorway with their weapons at the ready, but the navy crew were terrified. Most had forgotten the rest of the battle altogether. Coming face-to-face with a Mech was something that should be feared, but Ryan knew he must face their other troubles. He snapped around.
"Lieutenant! Give me an update on the enemy progress."
There was silence for a moment as Wayans got back to his screens.
"Sir, we've got enemy cruisers almost on top of us. There ain't much left of the minefield. The Collingwood says she's still in the fight, but see for yourself, Sir."
He panned their display screen around to show the flagship. Fires raged along her length, and enemy pulses continued to hammer the hull.
"God knows how many Mechs they have aboard."