Ghost Soldiers (19 page)

Spartan licked his lips as he looked at the landing zones.

"3rd Platoon cleared the lower landing bay during the last incursion. They met little resistance for most of the battle, and according to their lieutenant, there is at least enough space to land two Jackals inside. It's the main loading bay for the old cruiser, and more than enough space to land a major force."

Now Khan seemed confused.

"Two? Uh, you've got a problem with your maths. We've got four dropships with marines on board."

Sergeant Tyler had been listening to the conversation, but he'd already worked out what was going to happen.

"We only need to land the birds with the crew and the extra gear. Two of the birds, including this one, are equipped with marines only. All we need to do is get close enough to launch our assault units."

"True," agreed Khan, "but that leaves them in the air with nowhere to hide."

Everything aboard their Jackal was designed for insertion into battle from a short distance rather than requiring an actual landing under fire. It had been one of Spartan's requirements during the design phase. Too many aircraft, from Hammerheads to Maulers, had suffered heavy losses during landings under fire. Kanjana’s voice returned.

"The derelict is activating its weapons. It looks like a fully automated system. She came online at exactly as we passed the ten-kilometre barrier."

"Understood," said Spartan.

Khan pointed towards the derelict.

"If it’s automated, why didn't it fire when the Grunts landed?"

Spartan considered his question for a moment.

"Maybe it senses life forms on approach, or maybe, just maybe, it let us board to lure us in."

Khan shrugged but said no more.

He activated the company wide channel so that every officer could hear him.

"All units, this is it. On my mark, you will follow the plan. Listen to your officers, and follow oral orders only."

He glanced at the formation as it moved onwards.

"Ignore anything that comes outside of your unit's local network, and under no circumstances accept encoded data without matched audio. This enemy is as dangerous as it is resourceful. Start the clock now. Phase One in...ten seconds."

Spartan licked his lips, closed his eyes, and then gave the order.

"Now!"

The wide-area digital network cut as one by one each platoon deactivated the data connections to each other. There was no guarantee the enemy would be able to infiltrate the system, but Spartan was taking no chances. He'd already seen the damage the enemy could do by infiltrating first the ship, and then his robotic Grunts. One last check confirmed the system was deactivated before he changed to the local channel.

"Kanjana, are we ready?"

The intercom crackled.

"Always. Hold on, this is going to get interesting."

"Understood, just get us in close and get us in fast."

Kanjana began to laugh.

"Words I hear you live by, Spartan."

Khan laughed and then tried to hide it with a gruff cough.

"Funny," said Spartan, feigning insult, "real funny."

He changed his view to watch their flanks and the slowly opening hatches that hid their secret weapon.

"It's time to see how useful the X1 really is. Get the threat level up high."

The attack on the derelict was one of the messiest and most unusual space-borne assaults any of them had seen; yet like all of them, it began with a high-speed dash by assault gunships.

"Commencing attack run, now."

Spartan tensed his body as the first stage began. Encased in metal and trapped inside the Jackal, there was now little he could do but wait and rely upon the skills and training of his pilots, as the Jackals modified their formation. To any but the most experienced officer it would have looked little different, but with a few modest changes their effectiveness was transformed. The lower craft carried the bulk of the assault teams; those further up were tasked with the assault. The first offensive action was when each Jackal released its attached pair of X1 fighter drones. Eight Jackals were soon screened by sixteen of the ultra advanced, but untested craft.

Like much of the equipment used by the IAB, these small craft had been modelled on the successful Biomech fighters encountered in the war. Unlike the complex multi-engine manned and unmanned fighters used by the Alliance, these new craft were constructed around a single rocket engine, with attached movable ducts to alter course. This kept them very small and allowed them to wait inside their aerodynamic mounts on the flanks of the dropships. The engines were unshielded and exposed to the elements, making them even larger targets to radar and heat sensitive tracking equipment.

"In position," announced Kanjana, "Starting attack run on landing zone...now."

She was matter-of-fact, efficient, and almost coldly decisive in her command of this part of the battle. Spartan would have normally delegated such an operation to an experienced officer, but there were none aboard with her skills. She might have never done this, but in simulations she'd handled units of more than twenty Jackals, all with escorting drone squadrons.

Time for the real test.

The drones spread out to increase the size of the formation and then deployed their wings. These insect-like structures did much to increase their overall size and also functioned as simple ablative armour. Its primary role was to increase the size, and therefore the threat of the drone. Both the electronic and heat signatures were an almost perfect match to the much larger Jackals. They then split into two groups; one leading the two Jackal gunships, and the rest following the assault wave towards the derelict. Though using larger numbers, the assault formation appeared to be following the exact same approach as before. Spartan and Khan had decided from the onset that the mission needed to look little different. By the time the enemy could see what was happening, they should all be aboard. Just like last time, the turrets tracked them and then opened fire.

"Look, they know we're here," said Khan.

Spartan selected the forward view from the Jackal and watched broken dotted lines reach out to the formation of small craft. He'd seen assaults under heavy fire before, and this one was little different. The derelict was well defended, though nothing as sophisticated as the defences used on space stations or capital ships. There were no missiles or long-range gun systems, just basic point-defence turrets.

Two drones were ripped apart in seconds before they were able to return fire. Though small, the high-performance rockets used by the drones was easily capable of driving a high-energy weapon system. By avoiding the use of ammunition, the drones could instead operate the brand new HEC-1 plasma cannon, the exact same weapon carried by Maverick marines. The muzzle extended out from the middle of the engine and spat out rounds of super-heated plasma.

"Impressive," said Lieutenant Armstrong.

The drones swept along the dorsal section of the derelict and peppered the surface with high-energy projectiles. Each flashed as it struck the outer hull, and many burned through inside the craft to detonate the defensive systems from within. The shots were accurate and decisive, with every one of them aimed at the defensive weapon systems of the derelict. Though the drones took hits, they began knocking out the turrets. It was a fight they could never win, but that was far from the point. Their job was to be the distraction and buy the assault teams time.

"In position, sending the code...now."

This was the part of the plan that Spartan prayed would work. As the code was sent, the troop-carrying dropships broke formation, while dumping large amounts of countermeasures. In seconds the area of space near the original landing areas was filled with a variety of new signatures. At the same time, the code gave a failsafe command to the drones. They would now fight autonomously, refusing commands or data of any kind from any craft, friendly or not.

"Hold on."

It was an unnecessary suggestion, as the clamps kept them locked into position. It did give Spartan a brief moment to tense his body, as Kanjana spun the dropship about in a spinning manoeuvre before she activated the main thrusters. They accelerated away at a right angle, following the shape of the hull until upside down and near the underside. Even Khan was impressed by the speed and precision exhibited by the alien pilot.

"Impressive, very impressive."

Gunfire raked their hull, but due to the rapid banking and change of direction, only a handful of rounds hit the craft, none of which caused more than superficial damage.

"Prepare for drop," said Kanjana.

Spartan and his three comrades were already in position, but none had activated the tubes. They hit the buttons, and the cylindrical doors slid down to encase them. Once sealed, the lower hatches disconnected and waited for their release orders. Spartan swallowed, only then noticing his lips were dry.

"This is it, people. Get ready for a high-speed, zero-g insertion."

One of the dropships was hit as it twisted to avoid gunfire. Turrets blasted away until one of the engines was streaming sparks, yet still it continued onwards, its own weapons now blasting away.

That's our moment.

"Kanjana, get us close, now!"

Fury shuddered violently as Kanjana twisted the craft about and led the other five dropships and their escorts under the derelict. The speed and agility exhibited was astonishing, even to Spartan. Though the other five were quick, none could quite match the degree to which she could spin the craft around. They held their fire letting the X1 drones do the work instead. They split apart, the drones blasting the outer hull while the dropships sailed through the debris and gunfire.

"This is more like it," said Khan.

One of the marines said something, but a loud clunk drowned out the sound. Spartan checked the external views, but neither they nor the computer logs showed any sign of damage.

"Marines. This is our moment, be ready!"

The final stage of their arrival at the derelict was a massed confusion of spacecraft and gunfire, debris drifting about in all directions. Yet through this maelstrom, the dropships continued on their course until reaching their final position. The turrets on the derelict were numerous, but already Spartan could see what Kanjana had done. With a combination of computer aided assessment, and her superlative navigation and analytical skills, she had found the dead-zones in the defences.

It's not a warship, just a mass of wrecks and hulks fused together. That's its weakness.

They were still taking fire as the first four dropships formed up into a tight formation. The landing bay was large, but not so large they could waste their chance. With barely two metres between them, the two slid into the protected space of the landing bay. They were now inside another of the many blind spots of the myriad of gun turrets. They lowered to the deck level and activated their landing gear clamps, creating a strong seal to bond them to the target. The second pair split up and raced along the surface of the derelict, drawing away fire from the last pair.

"First two are on board," said Kanjana.

Spartan let out a short, pained breath at the news. Kanjana then called out over the communications system.

"Five seconds, all tubes prepare for launch. This is going to be fast."

Spartan sighed in relief as both Fury, and Spiteful, the sixth dropship rolled in opposite directions to expose their bellies to the open landing bay under the derelict.

"Three...two..."

The craft positioned themselves beautifully, with both still moving at high-speed towards the landing bay. There was no more space for them to land, and if for any reason they failed to move away, the craft would simply crash into the others sat waiting inside.

"One!"

Spartan closed his eyes and then felt a shudder as the tube depressurised and blasted him and the others out. It must have looked like an ancient multi-barrelled cannon as they flew out in a mass of metal, IAB marines in their armour and the massive forms of the larger Maverick and JAS suits. Spartan relaxed for a moment, enjoying the sensation of freedom, as well as the complete lack of control.

Here we go.

Then came the alerts, and Spartan opened his eyes to see a wall of colour. There were the proximity sensors for the derelict, as well as the passive scanners that had detected the incoming fire from gun turrets. His first instinct was to reach for his weapon, and his hand even began to move until he stopped himself.