Sol Shall Rise (The Pike Chronicles Book 1) (25 page)

“Enemy system takeover terminated,” announced the AI.

Jon watched with dismay as the Kemmar fighters destroyed the assault shuttle.

“Where did those fighters come from?”

“Uncertain. Preliminary data indicates they were stationed on the far side of the planet, Sir,” said Petrovic.

“Why the hell didn’t we see them?”

“The same interference that is disrupting our communications and targeting also concealed the fighters from our scans.”

“Target fighters. Energy weapons only.”

“We can’t get a lock on the fighters, Sir.”

“Then fire in their direction. Full spectrum array.”

“The fighters are descending on the prison, Sir. If we fire we risk hitting our troops.”

“Goddammit!”

The assault shuttles hovering in front of the prison and above the roof turned and raced into the sky to meet the attacking Kemmar fighters. The fighters screamed downward racing for the prison.

The fighters were outnumbered, but their speed and agility made up the difference. Coming into range the shuttles let loose a round of missiles and the fighters scattered firing decoys behind them. When the last of the missiles exploded the Kemmar fighters were still in the sky and now coming around for a run at the shuttles.

The sky lit up in a blue and red laser show as both sides tried to gain the advantage. The Kemmar fighters danced and sidestepped around the blue bursts, but the shuttles were heavier and slower and took numerous hits.

The heavy armor plating protected the shuttles, allowing them to withstand more damage, but that protection had its limits. As the shuttles took more hits their armor plating weakened, and it seemed inevitable that it would eventually fail.

The Kemmar fighters changed tactics and now focused their attack on one shuttle. Acting like a pack of wolves they worked to isolate their target and separate it from the protection of the group. They hit it from all sides with sustained fire. The Kemmar energy weapons soon burned through the shuttle’s plating and the sky lit up with the white flash of the exploding shuttle.

The shuttles regrouped and worked to counter the Kemmar strategy. The dog fights continued and the shuttles tried desperately to use their superior numbers to gain an advantage.

One Kemmar fighter flipped and swayed and raced in all directions imaginable trying to shake the two shuttles chasing it, the shuttle pilots displayed incredible skill and continued to give chase, yet the killing shot continued to elude them.

The reality was that there was only so much the shuttle pilots could do with the heavier and less maneuverable ships. Soon it became clear that the Kemmar fighters had the upper hand and that it was only a matter of time until the shuttles were wiped out. That conclusion became even more certain when the fighters painted the sky white for a second time.

Sergeant Henderson dropped down on one knee and fired on the advancing Kemmar. The troopers beside him did the same, while the Marines behind him stayed standing. The combined rail gun fire sent a torrent of bullets ripping through the enemy, shredding their suits and stopping their advance.

To the rear his Marines were getting control of the situation and now coordinated their fire more effectively, forcing the Kemmar to retreat. As the Kemmar fell back the troopers followed, determined to terminate the threat. Their attack, however, served to stretch the team even further leaving them even more exposed.

The Kemmar had to be dealt with or they would continue to harass their rear flank. On the other hand they needed to keep pressing forward and couldn’t afford to stop and wait. They also couldn’t afford to lose more soldiers.

Sergeant Henderson had lost almost a third of his team in the crossfire. Nine troopers dead. And now five had gone after the Kemmar attackers behind them. If they advanced now, with the troopers on the rear giving chase, they would be down to a team of sixteen.

In the end, standing still was not an option. They had to press on and not lose any momentum. The troopers chasing the Kemmar would have to catch up.

“OK we’re moving out. Krukov and Daniels, ready your grenade launchers and lob a few through that doorway. We charge and glass whatever’s still alive behind those doors.”

“Yes, Sir,” said the two Marines.

The two Marines slid open the doors, let loose a volley of grenades into the adjoining room, and took cover again behind the wall. The ground shook from the force of the concussions.

The troopers again slid the doors open and they all charged into the room. They took fire the second they entered and each trooper scrambled to find cover. But there was none. The Kemmar defenders had a superior position and now unleashed a relentless barrage of energy weapon fire on the exposed Marines.

Some tried to charge the Kemmar position, but were slaughtered before getting close enough to do any harm. In the first frantic moments several troopers blinked off Henderson’s display while the rest showed heavy damage to their combat suits. Left with no choice Henderson ordered the rest of his men to retreat back to the other side of the doors.

They continued to take heavy fire as they bunched up in front of the doorway trying desperately to get to safety. They tried returning fire to cover their retreat, but to no avail and more Marines died in the process.

Only eight Marines made it to the other side. The rest had simply vanished from Sergeant Henderson’s visor. What was worse, he couldn’t see the other five who had given chase to the other Kemmar soldiers. He assumed they were dead as well. He knew this was true when Kemmar soldiers rounded the corner behind them and opened fire.

The doors flew open in front of them and more Kemmar soldiers pushed into the corridor firing their energy weapons at the trapped group of Marines.

Kevin’s stomach hollowed out as he watched the last of Henderson’s team blink off his visor. He stared at the blank display in disbelief, refusing to believe what he saw. Thirty Marines, gone. His friend, gone. He fought against the grief. Fought to keep his composure. There would be time for grief later.

Henderson had known the risks. He was a veteran. A lifer. He had accepted death long ago, and he was lucky enough to meet the reaper in the thick of battle. It was a warrior’s death. A good death. He would have approved.

Kevin clenched an armored fist. He wouldn’t let the Sergeant die in vain. He looked around at the different doorways. The shuttles were not doing well against the Kemmar fighters, so taking over the prison’s systems wasn’t an option. Neither was standing around and waiting. But searching blindly for the prisoners would take too long. That left only one option. They would have to split up.

“Listen up,” he announced over the combat suit’s comm. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to get access to the prison’s network. So to improve our chances of finding the prisoners we are going to break up into five squads. Each squad will take a different route and we will search until we find those prisoners. Any Kemmar you come across is to be presumed hostile and shot on sight. We will take no prisoners. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir,” said the rest of the Marines in unison.

“Good.”

Kevin quickly organized the squads and assigned each a route. He gave the order for all squads to move out and they each entered their designated corridors. Kevin leveled his Gatling gun in front of him and led his team down their chosen path. He had managed to contain his grief for now, but a blind fury had taken hold in its place, and he couldn’t wait to run into some more Kemmar.

“Sir we’ve lost another shuttle,” said Petrovic.

The air battle had turned for the worst, and they were now down to only four shuttles. If the shuttles originally had a numerical superiority, it was now lost. The Kemmar fighters were simply better equipped for aerial combat and would soon destroy the rest of the shuttles. Then what? Jon shuddered at the thought.

Orbital support had been vital to the mission’s success. Without the interference the Hermes could easily eliminate all external opposition from orbit and also take over the prison’s systems. Finding the prisoners would be simple and any Kemmar defenders could be dealt with easily. But none of that was possible and now they were all running blind.

“Helm, break orbit and enter the planet’s atmosphere,” said Jon, knowing now what he had to do.

“Yes, Sir,” said Richards.

“Sir?” said Commander Wolfe.

“I know, but under the circumstances it’s our only option.”

“Yes, Sir,” said Wolfe, nodding.

Jon sensed the rising tension on the bridge. A quick look around confirmed his feeling. Everyone focused on their work, but he saw the tightness in the neck and shoulders, the rapid glances at each other, the clenched jaws. The plan hadn’t survived the opening shots and now drastic measures were underway.

The Hermes turned and began its descent towards Kerces. Entering a planet’s atmosphere with a ship as large as the Hermes wasn’t completely unheard of, but it was to be avoided. A ship like the Hermes was designed for space, not atmospheric travel. Once inside the planet’s atmosphere the Hermes would be far less maneuverable. This made it more vulnerable, and they all knew it.

The Hermes approached the fringes of the Kerces atmosphere and positioned itself so that it would enter with its belly first, as that was the thicker section of the hull. It then began its descent. Flames licked at the underside of the ship and then turned into lashes. The Hermes continued its measured descent and on the viewscreen it looked like they were entering a giant fiery mouth. The flames were now wrapping around the sides of the ship, orange fangs pressing down hard, trying to crush the life out of their prey. But the Hermes persisted and soon broke free, with nothing but sky and ice ahead.

“Take us to within firing range of the Kemmar fighters,” said Jon.

Ensign Richards dropped the Hermes to an altitude of thirty thousand feet.

“We have targeting back, Sir,” said Petrovic.

“Glass every one of those damn fighters.”

“Yes, Sir!”

A merciless stream of blue light erupted from the Hermes boring holes through two of the Kemmar fighters. Their flaming carcasses fell from the sky and crashed into the glacial mountains below. The rest of the fighters broke off their attack of the shuttles and turned their attention to the Hermes. They raced at high speed straight for the Hermes, too fast for the now regrouping assault shuttles to catch.

The Hermes continued firing destroying one more fighter, but the rest evaded the energy weapon onslaught and bridged the gap between them and the warship in blistering speed. In comparison, the Hermes sat motionless in the sky, too cumbersome to outmaneuver the agile fighters.

“They’re trying to ram us. Bring rail guns online. Point defense mode.”

Rail gun turrets sprang up across the Hermes hull and opened fire. The shells created their exploding barrier in front of the Kemmar fighters, blocking their access. But the Kemmar fighters were not missiles and did not fly straight into the barrage. Instead they scattered, looking for a gap. The Hermes continued to fire its energy weapons at the fighters and destroyed another attacker, but that left five more.

Two of the fighters focused their fire on one of the rail gun turrets, their energy weapons unhindered by the rail gun fire. The Hermes managed to destroy another fighter, but the concentrated fire succeeded in destroying the rail gun turret creating a hole in the point defense shield. In the blink of an eye the Kemmar fighter took advantage of the weakness and smashed into the Hermes hull.

The resulting explosion rocked the Hermes and breached the hull. In short order the other fighters changed direction and flew straight for the breach. The shuttles had made it to within range of the Hermes and were now firing on the Kemmar ships, but it proved futile. The Kemmar pilots were too determined, and their ships too fast to be denied.

There was a large flaming hole in the Hermes hull, and the remaining three Kemmar fighters slammed into it in rapid succession. The Hermes yawned as massive explosions rocked it threatening to snap the beleaguered ship in two.

The powerful concussions threw Commander Wolfe across the bridge, her head slamming into the unforgiving floor. She lay there in a heap, face down, her body crumpled and broken, the only movement a twitching foot.

Jon struggled to reach her, but the ship continued to lurch, and every movement caused him to lose his balance. He grabbed hold of a railing and gripped it with the power of a vise. Using it to steady himself he placed one foot after another until he finally reached Wolfe’s body. Bending down he placed a hand on her neck feeling for a pulse. He found it. She was still alive. But he knew it wouldn’t be for long.

He opened a comm with Doctor Ellerbeck. “Doctor, we have a medical emergency on the bridge. It’s Commander Wolfe.”

“Understood. I’ll get someone up there as soon as possible.”

Jon closed the comm and turned his attention back to the bridge. “Report!”

“We have sustained heavy damage, Sir,” said Petrovic. “Inertial dampeners are offline, and there is a massive hull breach on the port side. We have multiple casualties and injuries and there are reports of fires raging throughout the ship.”

Jon looked around him. Several of the bridge crew had also been thrown from their stations. Some picked themselves up off the floor, while others lay inert. Blood streamed from head wounds on two crew members who sat with a confused look in their eyes. Another stared in shock at the gruesome bone poking out of her broken forearm.

Smoke had started to creep in adding to the confusion and making the air thick. The foul smell of burning circuits combined with the smoke to make breathing difficult, causing multiple coughing fits. Jon found his way back to his chair, the smoke now stinging his eyes.

“We’re losing altitude, Sir!” said Richards.

“Can you compensate?”

“Negative. I’ve only got thrusters. I can use them to slow our descent.”

“Can you land her in the valley?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Jon opened a comm with the rest of the ship. “All hands brace for impact. Emergency landing underway.”