Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) (34 page)

“Jack, it’s through here,” Wictred said
quietly.

The two entered the computer room to
find cables and equipment drifting about the place. Jack thought
back to his last conversation with the Chief and tried to remember
where he said they needed to go.

The control nodes on the primary
console.

He looked about and found the unit with
the static body of a dead crewman draped over it. Jack kicked at
the wall and moved effortlessly to the unit. He traced the control
node with his hand until reaching a flat panel about the size of
his head. He pushed it in about a centimetre till it clicked and
then slid open to reveal three circles, each with an analogue dial
sat on top of it. Between the three circles was a small hexagonal
hole. Jack reached for the control-key the Chief had given him. As
expected, it matched the hole perfectly.

“Wictred, we need the other one,” he
called out.

Wictred was already moving from one
body to the next, but so far had found nothing of use, other than a
half loaded navy issue pistol. He tucked it inside his belt and
continued the search. Jack looked below their position, now nervous
that they might not find a senior member of the crew in this part
of the ship.

“Maybe they got out,” suggested
Wictred.

“Wait!” said Jack. He could see a shape
jammed down behind one of the shattered computer displays. “Look,
if I’m not mistaken, that’s the body of a sub-lieutenant. Check him
out.”

It didn’t take
Wictred long to get to the man
, and
within a few seconds, he held up the control-key triumphantly.
According to the Chief, all senior command staff carried one, as
well as the commanding officer of this part of the ship. It needed
both keys to activate and would also send an automated message to
all other command staff. They could then instantly override the
self-destruct system in case of accident or sabotage. Jack just
hoped there was nobody left on board that might stop them. The idea
that others might still be alive on the ship was a thought he did
his best to avoid, but from what he could see, the ship was a
barren vessel and one that would kill anybody within the hour, no
matter what he did.

At least this way we can take some of
those bastards with us!

“
Okay, over
there
and open up the secondary port,” he
said, pointing to a partially damaged computer system.

Wictred wasted no
time and quickly covered the space to the unit. With a quick
push
, the slat at the front popped open
to reveal a smaller but similar entry unit to the one near Jack.
Wictred placed the key near the hexagonal hole and looked over to
Jack. On his nod, the two pushed in their keys, and both units
flashed yellow.

“
Yes!” cried out
Jack, pleasantly surprised that this part had worked at all. He’d
half expected something to fail or interfere with their task. He
checked the time displayed on the front of the unit, quickly
calculating how long they had.

Two
minu
tes till the lifeboat
gets here. Crap! We’re behind schedule!

Each of the circular
parts lit up
, and he thought back to when
the Chief had given him the details of what to do. The circles
clicked as they were twisted, and he recalled the nine-digit code
needed for the trigger. He started with the first wheel, and
immediately a colour display showed the first character speeding
through numbers and letters.

“You sure you remember what the Chief
said?” asked Wictred suspiciously.

Jack continued
entering the code.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but
yeah, I’ve got it.”

With each series of
twists, the list of numbers and letters increased until finally,
the entire nine-letter code was finished. Upon adding the very last
one, the system beeped, and its lights turned red. A quite voice
came directly from the unit.

“
Auto-destruct
sequence activated. Three-minute silent countdown is in progress.
Please evacuate the ship immediately.”

Jack looked to
Wictred, who actually appeared nervous for the first
time.

“What the hell are you waiting for? Go,
now!” he cried.

With that, the two
pushed away from the units and to the far door. It was a short
route to the Six Alpha docking point, only three sections, but with
the silent countdown ticking away in their ears, the two of them
moved as fast as their bodies would let them. Wictred made it to
the Six Alpha section and turned, waiting for Jack to arrive. He
moved in a few seconds later, and the young Jötnar pushed the door
shut behind him and pulled on the seals. The two then turned to
face the external airlock, a double layered system that was
designed to allow automated supply units to dock with the frigate.
Jack hit the first manual control that triggered the opening of the
seal. There were three seals in this section, and the final two
could only be activated once a unit was connected to the exterior
of the ship. It was a simple system, designed to avoid accidental
breaches and fatal accidents. Wictred smashed his fist onto the
panel, but the final two sections didn’t open. Even more serious
though, his fist managed to break the panel to leave nothing but
exposed circuits boards and wiring.

“Wictred! What have you done?”
exclaimed Jack.

He pulled himself
over to the panel and reached in, only to find smashed components
and a scorch mark running along the metalwork. He turned back to
Wictred, shaking his head.

“We’ve got a big problem.”

*
* *

Captain Thomas stared
with cold, expressionless eyes at the formation of enemy ships on
the main display. The six ships appeared to be almost the same size
as ANS Devastation, but their design, intentions or even
capabilities were a total unknown to him. The shapes were similar
to images he had seen of prehistoric fish back on Earth, with the
thickly ribbed hulls and chunks of plating fitted at every point.
One of them had reached an Alliance frigate, but they were too far
away to assist, and by all accounts, the sensors showed the
abandoned ship looked no better than a hulk.

“Tactical, what’s our status?” he asked
for confirmation even though
he could see the
icons on his own status board. He just needed to hear it from
somebody else. The assault on the medical frigate was a shock, but
there were even greater concerns in New Charon, right now. Lights
flashed up on the mainscreen, and it quickly altered its focus to
show the spot that had been occupied by the medical frigate and the
large enemy ship. In their place was a great cloud of metal and
debris. Coloured flashes ripped through both structures until a
great colour ball of energy tore the two vessels into tiny
fragments.

“Holy crap!” uttered the Tactical
Officer before realising what he’d said.

“
Uh...the medical
frigate is gone. Sensors indicate a strong possibility she
triggered an autodestruct sequence. The enemy ship’s gone as
well.”

The display altered
again to show all the changes that were occurring. The large
structure of the primary enemy vessel had moved only a short
distance from where it had arrived. The Tactical Officer
highlighted the vessel on the computer system so that it indicated
red on the display.

“
The main vessel has
taken a stationary position at the mouth of its Spacebridge. We
have six other vessels, roughly cruiser class, and they have split
up with each on an intercept course with the moons around the gas
giant. No...wait! They are all altering their course.”

Captain Thomas
scratched his chin as he considered their options. The major
Alliance ships in this sector were spread out over a wide distance
with none, other than ANS Devastation, anywhere near the
Spacebridge.

“
Uh...S
ir. They are on an
intercept course with our Spacebridge and ANS Beagle.”

That last part snapped him out of his
thoughts.

Beagle? What do they want with the
bridge?

He nodded to the helmsman.

“
Put us between
them. They aren’t getting near our station.”

“
Aye, Sir,” answered
Lieutenant
Glinda Scookins
. She was a
short, white-haired woman with a clipped accent. She was fast
though, and in just a few seconds, the course changes were laid in.
Captain Thomas indicated for Commander Parker, his XO to
approach.

“
Get the crew
ready.
I think we’re going to
war.”

“
Aye, Sir,” replied
the XO, who then turned to the communications with
confidence.

“
This is the XO.
Action
stations! Marines, to your posts!
Charge weapon system! Medical staff to your posts! This is not a
drill, I repeat, this is not a drill.”

The
T
actical Officer did one final check
before nodding to the Captain.

“Sir, particle beams capacitors are
charging, approximately ninety seconds until ready.”

Captain Thomas nodded.

“Good, let’s hope they work as well as
the tests suggested. Get me Captain Vinson on the horn.”

The face of ANS Devastation’s CAG
appeared in seconds on the smaller screen to the right of where
Captain Thomas sat.

“
Captain, I need
your birds in the air. Put Lightnings out as escort. We have
hostiles on the way.”

“
Understood, Sir,
they’ll be out in less than sixty seconds.”

* * *

The destruction of the medical frigate
and the enemy warship was the first major action in the space-borne
struggle for supremacy in the New Charon sector. Even as the
vaporised hulks drifted apart, the deployment of every ship in the
system altered. All civilian ships and traffic in range of the
Spacebridge returned to Prometheus immediately. All other military
vessels set their course for ANS Beagle and the entrance to the
Spacebridge itself. From the bridge of the ship, now nicknamed
Charon Station, Captain Raikes watched the movement of ships around
the nearby gas giant and its moons.

“
Confirm
that, all unidentified ships have changed course to intercept this
station?”

The XO
nodded.

“
Affirmative,
Sir, with the destruction of our frigate and the enemy ship, they
have redirected their efforts towards us. It looks like their
objectives have changed.
”

“
And the only defensive capabilities we have are two
frigates?”

The XO nodded but said no more. On the tactical display
were the icons for all the major warships in the system. Icons over
the heavy gravity world showed the
Jötnar transports and one Alliance crusader class vessel.
ANS Dragon and her small taskforce were busy establishing
monitoring posts and a resupply station in the asteroid belt. He’d
already spoken with Admiral Anderson who was mustering every ship
he could find in the vicinity of Prometheus. He’d already sent
through the second frigate to assist the station, but it wasn’t
enough.

That left only ANS
Devastation anywhere within range of the Spacebridge for at least
two days. The display also showed quite clearly that the six enemy
ships would have to move past Devastation. The status markers
showed the intentions of her commander, and the hold action he was
taking made Captain Raikes nervous. He tapped the communication
button and immediately reached the pale face of Captain
Thomas.

“
Captain Raikes,
good to see you. I’m deploying fighters and setting up a perimeter
from the Rift.”

“I see. You understand that the enemy
vessels appear of a similar size and capability of one of our own
cruisers? You won’t last long out there.”

Captain Thomas nodded.

“
I understand. Even
so, once they get past us, they will hit you. If ANS Beagle is
damaged or destroyed, we’ll be trapped here and at their mercy. We
need reinforcements and fast.”

“
Anderson is sending
a taskforce in two hours. How long until the enemy reaches
you?”

The Captain moved away for a moment
before returning to the screen.

“They’ll be in weapons range in just
over ninety minutes.”

“
Ninety?” replied
Captain Raikes with surprise. “Can you hold for thirty minutes with
six ships on you?”

Captain Thomas simply smiled back at
him.

“
Ask me again in two
hours
.”

The space battle at the Siege of
Titan proved once and for all that the actions of a single ship
could change the course of a battle. The heroic stand of the
Battlecruiser Crusader against incredible odds made the assault
landings on the station possible, and with it the first real
victory in the Great Uprising. Though the great warship finally met
her end at the Fall of Terra Nova, she did provide the inspiration
for an entire new class of ship. This class of warship would be
proudly named Crusader and be fully battletested in the struggle
for supremacy in the Orion Nebula at New Charon.

Naval Cadet’s Handbook

The first wave had
been easily repulsed with only minimal losses to the
T'Kari
. Spartan, Teresa and their
Jötnar
allies were still stood outside the perimeter of
the temple location in the centre of the room, much to the apparent
dismay of
Ayndir
who continued to call
them over to make use of the cover. Spartan, however, knew full
well the strengths and weaknesses of his own people. They were
bigger and bulkier than the
T'Kari,
and
the limited cover offered them little protection. The open space
gave them room to use their weapons.