Black Legion: 02 - Assault on Khorram (23 page)

They moved on and took up position around the door. Streaks of flame from a dozen pulse weapons ripped through the opening, making it deadly to enter. Tamara dragged herself into position above the door and pulled out what looked like a military issue fighting knife. Xenophon glanced at her with an odd look. She smiled back at him, saying nothing. One of the men from inside tried to jump out and join in the fight, but the lack of gravity made him slow and easy to hit. Tamara grabbed him by the neck while keeping her legs locked around the ceiling grab handles. She called out as he swung up and hit the ceiling. Tamara ripped his pistol from his hand and pushed him away to the waiting crew in the corridor.

The ship rocked again just as before. Artemas took it as an opportunity to break away from the deadlock. She threw herself inside the doorway and into the command deck. Seeing her move, Xenophon chased after her and managed to get inside just as a volley of pulse rounds hit around the metal framing. There was a scene of total confusion inside the command deck. The lack of power and gravity had sent most of the crew and guards scattering. But more importantly, with the gravity gone, it would take time for others to reach this part of the ship. Three men were holding onto computer desks so they could use their firearms. The rest, including the Komes, were still trying to get access to the computer systems.

“What the hell is going on? Where are my communications?” shouted Andronicus, totally unaware that his enemies were now in the same room. With no light other than the occasional flash from the pulse weapons, Xenophon and Artemas were easily able to sneak around this part of the ship undetected. Even Tamara managed to pull herself along the ceiling and then drifted down behind one of the larger displays. The three waited, but the gun battle continued around them. Xenophon lifted up slightly and glanced about the room. The command deck was large, and there was still no power, but there was light coming from two new points. The first came from a portable comms unit and the second from one of the computers being used by Andronicus.

“How is he getting power?” asked Artemas.

Xenophon shook his head.

“I don’t know, but we need to stop him before he calls for help.”

“Done!” replied Tamara, and without checking she pulled herself up the wall and disappeared into the darkness of the ribbed bulkheads that ran along the ceiling. They were partly there to reinforce the innards of the ship; and also to function as a secondary surface following a loss of gravity. Luckily, unlike the crew of the ship, none of Andronicus’ men seemed to have undergone any zero-g training. Xenophon had a brief flashback to his cadet training prior to joining the Navy, but his head being shaken by Artemas brought him back to the present.

“No daydreaming, we have to end this, quickly!”

She looked down at her pistol and moved to the right of the display unit. Xenophon moved to the left-hand side and waited for her move. He looked carefully and counted six distinct muzzle flashes coming from the deck. He could definitely take out two before they turned on him. Assuming Artemas did the same that would still leave them with two plus an unknown number of assailants who could not be seen in the blackness. He lifted his pistol and took aim at the targets furthest away.

“Ready?” whispered Artemas.

“Now!” he replied.

He squeezed off three rounds and ducked down. Artemas, on the other hand, emptied her handgun in its entirety. Her delay cost her, as the return fire must have clipped her. She leaned back, but her boots anchored her to leave her body swaying like a reed. Xenophon grabbed her, pulling her down out of the line of fire. The weapons fire had already dropped, and from the sound of the shouting near the entrance, something had changed. He looked back and spotted a dull glow of light with shadows moving inside.

They are through,
he thought.

“This is over, drop your weapons, all of you!” came the booming voice of Xenias.

Two more firearms continued their deadly battle, but as more of the crew pulled themselves inside, it was clear the mere few traitors remaining were trapped and without a chance. The shadowy figure of Andronicus turned from his computer display and laughed towards Xenias.

“This isn’t over, you fool. I’ve already alerted my men, and the power is coming back on...about...now.”

Almost on cue, the emergency lights activated, their dull red glow spreading through the command deck. Xenophon lifted his hand to cover his eyes but luckily, the low level lighting wasn’t too bright. A gentle hum of computer systems indicated that the main power was also returning to the internal systems. Andronicus stood facing the newly arrived Xenias who was flanked by his crewmen, as well as Glaucon and Roxana, who were armed and all pointing their weapons at Andronicus. The traitors appeared to have only two more men left, and both were a distance away from their leader.

“Drop it, or we drop you,” ordered Xenias.

Andronicus laughed at him but kept his weapon trained on the Dukas.

“No. One move from any of your people and Xenias gets a third eye, understood?” he barked.

Xenophon lifted himself up slightly for a better view, but Andronicus spotted him and fired, forcing Xenophon back into cover.

“I’m warning you, any funny stuff, and he gets it right between the eyes. You know how serous I am. Now, put down your weapons and end this.”

Xenophon stayed low, eager to not to antagonise the deranged officer. Artemas lay huddled on the ground, nursing her wound. In the low light, he could see dark patches on her shoulder and chest but nothing more. He started to move closer, but she indicated for him to look to the ceiling, near to where Andronicus was stood. He leaned over and moved slowly to the side to get a look. At first he saw nothing, but then he could see the figure of Tamara in the shadows, directly above Andronicus. In her right hand she carried the military issue combat knife.

Don’t be stupid, just get down and stick that knife where it needs to go,
he thought. His heart now pounded at concern for both her and the rest of them if she failed.

Without warning, he felt a harsh pull on his body and had to reach out to avoid smashing his head on the display unit. The artificial gravity was fully activated in less than a second, but that was enough for Tamara to lose her hold and fall from the ceiling. She landed in a heap on the floor behind Andronicus. He turned to see her lifting herself to her knees and started laughing. Xenophon aimed his pistol, but Tamara and Andronicus were right next to each other; it was too risky a shot.

“I warned you!” muttered Andronicus, and with a slow movement of his hand, he started to pull the trigger. Tamara burst forward with surprising speed and jammed the dagger into his throat. The impact was savage and snapped him backwards. His pistol blasted ineffectually, and the pulse round embedded in the metal wall, narrowly missing both Roxana and Xenias. As he fell down to the ground, Tamara jumped onto him and held onto the blade as he desperately tried to withdraw it. Roxana ran over, closely followed by Glaucon, and between them they prised her off the wounded man. Xenophon moved over to help, but Tamara spotted him and lurched at him to grab him.

“You crazy minx!” he laughed, just glad she appeared unhurt after all the excitement.

Xenias commanded the centre of the room, his bulk and voice demanding attention.

“Get all systems back online. I need full control and communications, fast!”

His crew split up, each heading to their old stations. Fued and Bradford stayed near the entrance and watched for signs of the inevitable reinforcements. Glaucon and Roxana were busy trying to halt the blood loss from their new prisoner.

“Damn, you were bloody lucky there,” said Roxana as she examined the deep wound.

“Yeah, just another few millimetres and you’d be in a coffin, you bastard,” muttered Glaucon in a far less conciliatory tone. He looked over to Xenophon who was working on one of the few computer units that was undamaged and still functional.

“The Chief is initialising propulsion and navigation. Comms are up already,” he said with obvious relish at the expense of Andronicus.

 
As they spoke, Roxana ripped off the man’s tunic and used part of it under his neck to support his head. As she was tying it, the main lights flickered on, bathing the command deck with bright light. All of them experienced mild discomfort for a few seconds as their eyes adjusted to the drastic change. It was then that she noticed the tattoo.

“Dukas, look at this!” she called out.

Two of the crew helped the wounded Xenias over to her. He bent down and examined the markings on the man’s collar. Normally, they would have been hidden from view, but now it was plain to see.

“Eleusinian Disciples, how the hell did they get on our ships?” he snarled.

Artemas walked over, her hand still holding onto her bleeding wound.

“We heard rumours they were trying to infiltrate ships in the Boeotian contingent. This group must have slipped aboard when the fleet was assembling.”

Xenias turned and looked at the woman. At first he saw nothing but the elegant shape of a scantily clad and very attractive woman. Then he spotted her pale face and distinctively elfin bone structure.

“Medes?” he muttered rhetorically.

Xenophon spotted the confrontation and moved beside her.

“Yes, she is an agent working for Cyrus.”

Xenias’ face changed at the mention of the Medes noble who was funding their operation. For a moment, Xenophon thought he might lurch forward into an attack, but instead he waved to one of his men. The dekarchos approached and saluted.

“Secure the main hallway. Nobody else gets anywhere near here.”

He then turned back to Xenophon.

“What do you know about the Eleusinians, then?” he asked. Before Xenophon could reply, the Dukas answered himself.

“They are a band of black marketers, cutthroats and mercenaries. They have been banned from every single civilised system colonised by man. They steal or kill for the highest price, no scruples, no honour and no loyalty to anyone but their bank accounts.”

He thought to himself for the briefest of moments, as if he was remembering some past event with this band of cutthroats. He shook his head, looking back to Xenophon.

“So, you’ve been in touch with the Chief?”

“Yes, he was below, on orders to redirect control of various sub systems to here so they could be controlled by one man.”

Xenias nodded closely.

“Makes sense, I’ve been thinking of doing the same. These old cruisers were built with some odd design ideas. Anyway, get him up here fast. I need this old bird clamped down tight.”

He then turned to Artemas.

“As for you, I see you have played your part in regaining control of this ship. That buys you time, for now. I suggest you join the others out there and help with the defences.”

She looked to Xenophon, as though he were her superior.

“What are you looking at him for? I am in charge here.”

“Sir, control is restored. We have full command and control, as well as use of the communications gear.”

“Excellent, put me on speakers. It’s time everybody in this ship understood who is in charge and what is happening. We are rejoining the Armada, and any one that stands in our way can take a step outside,” he said with malice in his voice.

“Dukas, before you speak, I have something else for you,” said Artemas.

The Dukas held the communication microphone in his hand and considered whether to hear her speak. It looked as though he would dismiss her, but something intrigued him.

“Be quick, we have a course to plot here!”

Xenophon supported her as she moved closer, and one of the crew helped to peel back her shredded clothing around the armour. There was quite a bit of blood, but the wound looked a lot less serious than he suspected it might be.

“After we were attacked, I was able to get a short message from one of our listening posts. There are rumours of ship movements on a course for Khorram, Terran ships, not ours. If our agents at the listening posts are right, then they are expecting a large Terran fleet to arrive within the week.”

He looked surprised at the news.

“Terran fleet, as in our Armada, the Legion?”

He placed his chin in his hands and thought. The Dekarchos called over.

“Dukas, we have the crew’s attention. They are waiting for you.”