Battleship Furiosa (26 page)

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 gun
s 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 and
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 S
quad from ANS Wolverine."

Billy looked in the same place on
another and sighed.

"This one is 1st
S
quad, 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
m
arines?" 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?"

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.