Purge of Prometheus (36 page)

Pointing at some of the pilots in the back, Yen answered a series of mundane and routine questions about timetables and rates of fire for the larger salvos.
 
While it was important information in order to time maneuvers so that the Squadron avoided the fire from the Cruisers behind, Yen knew it wasn’t the burning question that had yet to be asked.
 
Knowing that Iana would be the one to ask, he intentionally avoided calling on her as long as possible.
 
Finally, with the other questions exhausted, he pointed toward her.

“Sir,” she began hesitantly.
 
“You mentioned that the Alliance Fleet would leave the cloud cover once the Terran Fleet enters the galaxy.”

“That is correct, Warrant Morven.”

“Sir, if the cloud cover will distort the Terran sensors to the point that they will not be able to detect us in the gas giants, won’t the clouds also wreak havoc on our own sensors?”

“Yes, they will,” he replied, edging her toward the question she wanted to ask.

“Then how do you propose we know when the Terran Fleet…” she stopped in mid sentence, the realization striking her.
 
“The only way we’d know is if someone stayed outside the atmosphere and acted as a spotter.”

“The radio will still transmit between the spotter and the Fleet if they remain in a low orbit around the planet,” Yen explained.

“But the pilot won’t be protected from Terran sensors,” Gregario added.
 
“The second he’s spotted, the Terrans will open fire and he’ll be destroyed.
 
It’s a suicide mission!”

“I know that, Warrant Pelosi,” Yen said calmly.
 
“That’s why I’m volunteering for it.”

CHAPTER 27:

“Security and medical teams to hangar bay alpha,” the intercom called throughout the
Ballistae
as the two transport ships docked amidst the massive bay.
 
Behind the ships, the large exterior doors closed and sealed and oxygen flooded the chamber.
 
When the vacuum of space had been purged from the bay, the personnel doors leading into the depths of the Destroyer slid open and Terrans rushed into the room.
 
Security forces and medical teams jockeyed for position near the rear doors of each of the transports, ready to receive the wounded soldiers inside.
 
They waited with eager anticipation as the rear hatches of both transports slowly descended, revealing the dark interiors.
 
As the first of the security guards stepped onto the lowered platform of AX-05, a single gunshot rang out and the guard jerked and stood rigid.
 
Slowly, he tumbled backwards and splayed on the cold metal floor of the hangar bay.

From within the darkened transports, revolutionaries flooded out of the two ships, firing into the surprised Terrans as they advanced.
 
The front lines of security guards crumpled under the hail of gunfire.
 
Medical personnel dropped med kits and stretchers and turned to run, only to be mowed down by automatic fire.
 
The floor quickly grew slick with blood.
 
A smaller group of remaining Terrans ran for the doors, attempting to escape into the maze of passages within the Destroyer.
 
In the lead, one of the medics slapped the sensor to open the metal doors.
 
Painfully slowly, the doors cracked open with a hiss, the oxygenated interior of the ship depressurizing to match that of the bay.
 
As the doors slid open, the medic pulled in vain against the door, trying to pry it open.
 
As he slid his head into the widening gap, a bullet caught him in the base of the neck, tearing through his spine and shattering his jaw before coating the far side of the doors with red gore.
 
Slumping in the doorway, the others tried to climb over his body and escape.

Keryn stepped over a nearby body and adjusted her aim toward the second Terran fighting his way through the door.
 
With only one path of escape, the security and medical personnel bunched into a tight group, making it easy to execute them one at a time.
 
Beside her, Adam’s large bore rifle roared, catching a security guard in the chest and tossing his body into the side of their transport ship.
 
As the other revolutionaries slaughtered the guards who stood and fought against the ambush, they turned their attention to the escaping Terrans.
 
Their combined fire tore through those bunched at the door.
 
Keryn could see a few escaping into the outer hallway, but she didn’t bother giving chase.
 
She wanted a few to escape; she had no problem with them sending assault teams against her forces.
 
It made it easier to clear the ship if they all came to her instead of her hunting for them.

As her troops gathered weapons from the dead Terrans, Keryn took a moment to examine the wide bay.
 
The transports had landed unceremoniously in the middle of the bay instead of taking one of the docking alcoves along each wall.
 
Though a number of the alcoves were empty from ships and bombers that had flown to the planet’s surface, more than two dozen fighters towered from their docks, their missile racks and forward rail guns gleaming wickedly in the strong overhead light.
 
Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply the combined smell of the hangar.
 
Scents of oil and sweat assaulted her nostrils, the smells of crew chiefs and mechanics working diligently on ship repairs.
 
Though many found the smells offensive, Keryn had always known that they were an essential part of her ability to fly.
 
To a pilot, the smells of grease and labor were their own brand of pheromone.

“The bay is clear,” Adam said next to her, nudging a Terran body with the tip of his boot.

Keryn opened her eyes and smiled.
 
The Voice knew there was much more fighting to be done and was growing excited.
 
She turned to her gathered forces and started separating them into assault teams of twenty soldiers each.
 
The Destroyer was enormous and it would take too long to clear if they stayed as a whole.
 
Keeping Adam with her, she chose her combatants from the crowd.
 
When the teams were identified, she began sending them into the hallway outside the bay, sending some off to the right toward the front of the ship and some off to the left, heading toward the engines and storage chambers.
 
Though it pained her to do, she sent Alcent and his team to clear the bridge.
 
She wanted that honor herself, but knew that motivation for her soldiers would come only if they saw her doing the same legwork that they were.
 
And, if she was right, most of the resistance wouldn’t be at the bridge.
 
Instead, she led her own team through the door and they set off to the left with a wave and wishes of good luck.

The wide, sterile metal hallways were decorated plainly, with gold and blue colored runners designating the royal colors of the Terran Empire tracing the curves of the walls.
 
Side hallways split off regularly from the maze of passages and Keryn was suddenly aware that she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to find her way back to the hangar after they completed their mission.
 
She couldn’t trace the way they came, but she kept on an undeviating path forward, constantly following the soft hum of the Destroyer’s engines.
 
Occasionally, she paused, straining to decipher the true engine noises from the echoes which reverberated off the metal walls.
 
Often, the ricocheting sound made it seem as though the engines were behind her, but she kept moving forward, not allowing herself or her men to get confused by the disorienting sounds.

Keryn could hear bursts of gunfire coming from ahead and knew that at least a few of her groups had encountered resistance.
 
After passing a few more side passages, which her team now checked cautiously before advancing past, she began passing bodies lying in the hall.
 
Terrans mixed with revolutionaries sprawled both dead and dying along the passage.
 
Without pausing to treat those who fell, Keryn continued advancing toward the engine room.
 
She knew that with the engines in the hands of the Terrans, she stood no chance of getting out of orbit.
 
Quite the opposite, if the Terrans decided that the ship was lost, they could overload the fuel cells charging the massive engines and destroy the entire ship.
 
Alcent would have the glory of taking the bridge and killing the Captain, but Keryn and Adam would do well with the knowledge that they saved everyone on board from certain death.

Their team approached the numerous criss-crossing hallways cautiously, always anticipating a Terran ambush.
 
Because of her caution, the approach to the rear of the ship took far longer than she had anticipated.
 
Eventually, her team came across wide stairs leading up to the decks containing crew living quarters and another set leading down, deeper into the bowels of the ship.
 
Hallways fanned away from the stairs in a star pattern, the stairwell being a focal point for movement through the rear section of the ship.
 
Glancing only quickly up the stairs, knowing that one of her teams should have already begun clearing that direction, Keryn led her team down the staircase.
 
Their boots clicked loudly on the metal stairs as they walked five abreast toward the bottom level of the ship.

The layout of most star ships was deceptive to those who had not spent a lot of time aboard Cruisers and Destroyers.
 
The rear section of the ship had multiple levels above the middle floor, often considered “ground zero”.
 
However, in larger ships, a single floor dominated the space below ground zero.
 
The massive engines that filled the rear of the vessels dominated the void between ground zero and lower floors.

As Keryn led the way down flight after flight of stairs, she knew they were quickly approaching the engine room as the sound turned from a hum to a rumble, one that could be felt through the vibrations running through all the walls.
 
Before long, they would come across the first doorway as they moved toward the engine room.
 
The first door, she knew, would lead to the catwalks above the enormous engines.
 
Further down the stairs, a second, wider set of doors would grant access to the ground floor of the engine room.
 
Unfortunately for her, Keryn’s twenty-man team would have to cover both entrances, which meant dividing her small force even smaller.

Ahead, the stairs intersected a landing, the far side of which held a single metal door and an activation panel.
 
Even through the thick metal, she could feel the vibrations from the engines under her feet.
 
Wordlessly, she split her force, directing Adam to lead the second force to the ground floor while her team entered onto the catwalks.
 
It was a risky maneuver, leaving herself exposed on the grated and narrow walkways, but it was the only way to ensure no Terrans were able to gain a defensive position on her team as they cleared the room.
 
As Keryn stepped toward the door, Adam placed a hand on her arm.

“Be careful in there,” he whispered, his caution unnecessary since his words were mostly drowned out by the rumbling engines.
 
“I want you coming back to me when all this is over.”

Keryn smiled.
 
She longed to kiss him for luck, but knew she needed to maintain the soldier persona and not let herself appear emotional in front of her troops.
 
“I will.
 
Kill Terrans dead, okay?”

“Will do,” he replied as he turned and led his men down the wide stairs.
 
Turning back to her own troops, she moved to the door and paused.
 
She wanted to give Adam a couple minutes to reach the bottom floor before she entered to ensure any Terrans inside would have two forces to engage instead of ganging up on hers alone.
 
She knew the ship was running on a skeleton crew, proven time and again by the minimal resistance they encountered on the way here, but she didn’t want to become lackadaisical and cause her soldiers to be slaughtered.

After doing a mental count, Keryn activated the control panel beside the door and crouched defensively as the doors slid open.
 
She was quickly overwhelmed as the rumbling engines transformed into a deafening roar as the doors opened.
 
Though she had felt the vibrations through the metal doors, they had been holding back the tidal wave of noise emitted by the massive engines.
 
And massive they were, Keryn realized as she moved cautiously through the doorway.
 
Narrow metal catwalks extended like a spider’s web above the twin engines, both of which dominated the already enormous engine room.
 
Standing nearly sixty feet in diameter each, both engines rested in cradles that allowed mechanics to work on all sides of the engine simultaneously, including underneath the gargantuan machines.
 
Heat rolled from front vents on the engines and the entire room reeked of burning fuel.
 
Normally, permanent crews used masks and carried hearing protection in order to survive extended periods of time inside the rooms.
 
Keryn quickly understood why as she started feeling lightheaded as her the sight of the engines, the deafening sound, the stifling heat, and the pungent smell assaulted senses again.
 
Glancing through the grated floor, vertigo threatened to overwhelm her.
 
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see an Avalon watching her, concerned.
 
Though she could see her unease reflected on his face, Keryn took strength from the sight of her troops standing supportively behind her.
 
Sequestering her dizziness, she stood tall and stepped onto the closest catwalk.