AMP Rebellion (16 page)

The maintenance door had a large dent in it just below the handle. It had held under the strain of Frost's boot.

I spoke as I stepped in front of it. "Must be getting old Frost. Can't even kick down a door. It's a good thing York wasn't here to witness that spectacle."

York came on the comm. "Oh, I saw it Sir. Hahahaha! I just had to catch my breath from laughing. Maria had me patched in through her video feed. If I had leg's Sir, I'd kick that door in for you! Hahahaha!"

Ak-ak-ak-ak-ak-ak-ak!

I raised my boot and kicked at the door even with the doorknob. The thin plate steel of the door gave way around the bullet holes. The door swung open. The air duct lay before us.

I spoke, "Get that access panel open and let's get the Colonel some assistance."

Rodriguez worked the latches as I stepped up to assist. Before she could raise her hand to stop me I pulled hard on the handle release. The air duct behind the panel was pressurized. I was blown backwards, striking the back of my head against the inside wall. Several minutes passed before I came too.

Bellows was standing over me. "Good, glad to see you are with us Sir. I took the liberty to pull that rib from your arm. The holes are closing OK, but they are going to leave some nasty scars. Just rest here for a few minutes and we should have you ready to rumble again Sir.

I grabbed Bellows by the arm. "The Chlorine? Did we get the Chlorine in there?"

Bellows took my hand and placed it by my side. "The Chlorine is away Sir. And unless you want me poking you full of extra holes I would not be grabbing my arm again. Just give me another minute to finish up and you can have at it."

Frost stepped up and spoke, "Good thing you have a thick skull Sir. The way you hit that wall I thought you were going to be leaking brains everywhere. Glad to see it was just a knockout. Oh, and while you were out Sir, I kept your blood flowing by massaging your butt cheek Sir. Hahahaha!"

When Bellows had completed his stitching I attempted to stand. I was shaky on my feet and required a hand. After feeling the lump on the back of my head I stepped slowly out into the hallway.

I spoke, "Let's get going people. We have a port to shut down."

Frig came on the comm. "Sir, glad to see you are up and moving. I routed your new path to Transway-3. You should be receiving it on your arm momentarily. Just before the last turn I selected a store room, W348. You will find extra supplies in there should you need them Sir."

The Colonel came on the comm, "Grange! Nice work with the Chlorine! We are once again moving forward. The Dakar all seem to be running for their lives in agony. You might have to watch your back as some may be headed back your way."

I replied, "Glad to hear it and thanks for the warning Colonel. We'll pick up the pace a bit until we get to our objective. How's the air your way?"

The Colonel replied, "It's not much worse than a strong bleach smell, but it smells like fresh air to me! We should be able to make our current objective in about ten minutes. Will let you know what's next after that."

I replied, "Roger that Colonel. Just let us know if you need anything else."

We arrived at W348 without incident. I gave the teams an opportunity to rest. We had lost one of our own in Mendez, but war saw to it that there was no time to grieve. Half of the squads were soon sitting, chewing on fresh Omega root. I shook my head in disgust.

We restocked our ammo with the supplies Frig had left for us and then returned to the mission at hand. The ramp down Wallace-25 on Transway-3 was unguarded. We slowly moved our squads out into the hallway.

Frost was on point. "Sir, the main corridor to the port is just up ahead. Is there an alternate route we can take to get in there? I don't fancy just walking in through that main door."

I got on the comm. "Frig. Can you find us another way into that port? Something less traveled than the main entrance?"

Frig replied, "Bringing up the schematics now Sir. I believe there are two fire doors on your level with access, but we will have to disable the alarms before they can be accessed."

I replied, "There aren't any walls we can cut through or access panels or such? Or could we use a TIG to knock out power while we move through?"

Frig was quiet for a moment and then replied, "I'm sorry Sir. The walls surrounding that port are of extreme thickness for obvious reasons. And there are no access panels. I could not be certain that the TIG would do what you need. It will knock out the power, but you may set off the alarm when that power returns even if that door has been closed."

"I will raise the Colonel’s team on the station and see if they have access to the computer systems in that section. Perhaps they can disable it for us. In the meantime, I would suggest you move down the hallway across from your position to the right. At the end you will find a door that leads into an office area. It should be large enough to house your team until a decision is made."

I replied, "Let us know when you know something. Until then we will use the time to study the port schematics. If you could provide us with a latest scan of the area it would be appreciated."

Frig replied, "Will do Sir. Stand by."

Once in the abandoned office space, I called together my squad leaders to review the port layout. Harin Abouye was a 58 year old veteran with 40 years of prior service in the Grid Marines.

Harin spoke, "There are 35 of these type ports on the Grid Sir. Most have a similar configuration. Docking bays here and here. Ingress is at a 35 degree angle here and egress at a 45 degree angle there. This section is for loading and unloading of big cargo and this one for people and standard packages. The warehouses drop down into the two levels below."

I replied, "Did you ever work this port Harin, you sound knowledgeable."

Harin replied, "No Sir. But I did work a sister ore port on Joy-18. It is essentially the same layout with a few alterations. Since we can’t change the overall structure of this station, we have to use what was already here. As it turns out, it was an efficient design."

Commander Jack Lightfoot spoke, "The design also offers us some advantages Sir. We only need to hold the ingress port-way to control the port. Ships can only come in through there and not the other way. Automated gravity buffers keep ships from entering through the exit. If we take that entryway we control this port."

The results from a partial scan of the Wallace-18 port came in from Frig. We soon had a plan in place to take back the port from the Dakar who held it.

I spoke, "Commander Lightfoot, "You and Major Higgins will be closing off the entryway. Take Finch and Breslin with you. Kerris, take your squad to this position and take out the Dakar stationed there. From the number there and the looks of it on the schematics, I would say they are using this for their bunk area. If we can coordinate our attacks it should make your mission doable with a single squad."

I continued, "Moler, Fachetti and Aaron, you will hit and hold the ingress control room. That leaves Lincoln and me as backups. We will take positions here and here. If any of you hit stiff resistance call one of us in."

The Colonel came on the comm. "Grange. I’ve been following your planning on the share. You will have to take that entrance first and fight your internal port battles afterward. That entryway has blast doors that you will need to close and secure. You won’t be able to hold off the Dakar in this section, but those blast doors will. Get them closed and work out the rest from there."

I replied, "We were planning an all-at-once strategy Colonel. I think we can wrap it all up with a single sweeping charge."

The Colonel replied, "That’s not going to happen Grange, you have several thousand Dakar regulars that are headed your way. That port has the promise of fresh air since it is on a separate system. They are going to want it. Take that door now and get it shut!"

I turned to the others. "You heard the Colonel. Let’s just rush that door and fight our way through it. The scan shows about 150 troops camped out around it. We are going to have to cover a hundred meters of open space before we get there. This will not be easy."

Major Chance Moler replied, "Sir, I have an idea and I will gladly volunteer for it. I will walk down the hall to the door and release a TIG. The rest of you can then rush the door."

I replied, "With that combat suit they won’t let you get close enough to use a TIG. That’s a suicide mission Major. We need something else."

Moler replied, "Well what if I walk down there naked? It might be so much of a distraction that they wonder what it is that crazy human is doing."

Frost replied, "I like the way you think Major! But what if they have laser pistols? You wouldn’t last a second out there."

The Major replied, "I don’t see as we have a choice. We either risk one individual, me, or we all take our chances against those blasters. Frankly, I think my way is less risky for us all."

I replied, "OK Major, we give it a shot. We will wait around the corner until we hear a pop from that TIG. And thanks for your dedication Major. It takes monster courage to volunteer for something like this."

The Major began to strip off his combat suit. "I’ve had my moments of shame Sir. If this works it wipes the slate clean for me."

We moved up to the corner by the main corridor. The Major, with TIG in hand began to sing. His voice was hideous and his tone worse than a drunk at a New Year’s celebration. The major rounded the corner, swaying back and forth as he slowly walked towards the contingent of Dakar soldiers.

The Dakar looked at each other curiously before the Dakar commander barked out an order, "Halt! Don’t come any closer!"

The Major continued to sing as he moved towards the entrance-way.

The Dakar commander repeated his statement. "Halt!"

Twenty blaster rifles were raised and aimed at the Major. At forty meters the Dakar commander fired a warning shot. Sparks flew off the wall as a low level bolt impacted just beside the Major.

The Major came to a stop for only a moment. He then began to swing his arms as he twirled and once again sang. The Dakar watched on in fascination. At 20 meters the Major swirled and released the TIG. For two seconds it skated on the corridor floor before sliding up to the Dakar.

Pop!

The Major turned and ran in our direction as the Dakar tried in vain to fire their blasters.

Ak-ak-ak-ak-ak-ak! Ak-ak-ak-ak!

The Dakar began to scatter. As the Major sprinted in our direction the laser fire began. The third bolt cut deep into the Major’s side just as we advance past him. Two grenades rolled up to the Dakar soldiers.

Booom! Booom!

Our advance was cleared.

I stopped with Bellows as he knelt down to assist Chance Moler. The Major had passed out from the injury and the pain. Bellows looked up and shook his head. The Major had sacrificed himself for us all. I continued forward with an angry scowl on my face.

I yelled as I came to the doors and fired on two fleeing Dakar. "Aaaaaagggh!

Ak-ak-ak-ak-ak!

Laser bolts were flying from several fallback locations as the Dakar attempted to regroup. Frost led a team into the control room for the doors and began the process of first closing and then sealing them shut. Lights flashed and an alarm sounded as the massive blast doors began to close. I pulled a TIG from my pack and heaved it down the entrance-way corridor as an army of Dakar soldiers rounded the far corner in our direction. Four ion bolts struck the outer side of the doors as they closed and locked. It was now us versus the 350 Dakar that occupied the port facility.

I yelled, "Abouye! Lightfoot! Park your squads here and don’t give up possession of this control room. Finch! Breslin! Take your squads and clear out those admin offices and the warehouses. Fachetti! Flush out that docking bay and tell me if there are any ships in there that we could fly if need be. And Aaron! You are coming with me. We are going to take ingress control and stop any ship that attempts to land in this port. You all have your orders. Move out!"

As we moved over a crosswalk the occasional ion bolt would flash over our heads. There was a strange thing about the Grid station construction. Ion bolts were largely absorbed by the materials that made up any bare station walls. Anything we had constructed since our arrival acted in the normal manner, it would explode violently if a full ion charge met it full on. But the original walls only gave off sparks. The Grid was made up of materials that we could not reproduce. It was another of her mysteries we had yet to unlock.

The port itself rose for three levels from Wallace-16 through Wallace-18. From our position we would have to make our way down a local trans-way to the base floor where the ingress control room was located. Once on the floor it was an 850 meter run to the outer port wall. Cover across the port floor was minimal at best.

I spoke, "We have a 250 meter run to that first set of materials out there. From there we have another 150 meters to those cargo containers and 150 meters beyond that to that floor conveyer. Beyond that is where we will be most vulnerable. The last scan showed 40 Dakar in and around that control room area. I don’t think we have anyone here that can throw a TIG 200 meters. So, we are going to have to figure something out."

We moved across the port floor in a zig-zag fashion. The occasional ion bolt came over our heads to which we returned a hail of AK rounds. The Dakar taking the long range shots soon decided it was not worth being shot at. Our first two hops across the floor went off without incident. When we arrived at the floor conveyer I sat behind a row of cargo containers.

I spoke, "Bellows. What can you give me for this arm? That prior shot has worn off. I’m starting to get finger cramps and this is my trigger hand."

Bellows replied, "I was afraid that might happen Sir. That rib tore through your muscles that control the tendons in your hand. If you are having cramps it is because those muscles that are left in there have been stretched beyond normal. You are going to have to stop using that hand Sir, or you risk tearing them all and having a long recovery from it."

I replied, "Oh great. I have to fight with my left hand? My aim is going to be worthless."

Bellows replied, "Don’t know what to tell you Sir. If we were back on the Suppressor I could give you an exo-shell for that forearm that would alleviate some of that muscle strain. Can’t do much here but tell you to not use it."

I looked around at my team. "Anyone have an arm on ‘em? And if so, how far do you think you can throw a TIG?"

Corporal Lance Johnson spoke up, "I played in the Delta leagues before joining the Corps Sir."

Johnson held a TIG in his hand and bounced it up and down.

Johnson continued, "I’m guessing about 60 meters in the air and another 60 meters of rollout, but it will go off before it gets to that distance with a five second fuse. I’m guessing we would get maybe 90 meters."

I got on the comm to Frig. "Frig, what are the chances you can drop a NIB near the ingress patrol room of Wallace port?"

Frig replied, "I will need 15 minutes Sir. Admiral Chaulk is in a fierce battle at the moment and I am using the portal in support of his efforts. The Durians are heavily involved in the fight and they are using an explosive grenade of their own. Chaulk is taking heavy losses."

I replied, "Roger that. Let me know when your time is coming available. We may need you. And have Jeb see if he can come up with a launcher for these TIGs. It would have come in handy for us right now."

I closed the comm and looked around at the faces that were awaiting my command. "Looks like we are going to have to do this the hard way. Frost, check those containers and see if they can be pushed across that floor. We might be able to use them as a kind of moving cover."

Frost looked over the container closest to her. "It appears solid enough Sir. If we had an auto-pallet we could push it wherever we wanted."

I punched up the area inventory on my arm pad. "Over on that wall we came from, there, by that blue number four sign is a stack of them. Who wants to go get a few?

Lieutenant Aaron answered, "We got this one Sir. Give us a little cover and we will be back in a few.

Ak-ak! Ak-ak! Ak-ak!

Several minutes passed as Aaron’s squad zig-zagged their way to the pallet stack and back. Upon their return they were rewarded with a two minute rest.

I got on the comm. "Abouye, what’s your status?"

Abouye replied, "Resistance around the door was light Sir. Breslin and Finch chased the bulk of them into warehouse five. I believe it’s only a matter of time before they have them finished off."

I switched channels. "Fachetti, how are the docks?"

Fachetti replied, "We dispatched about a dozen Dakar Sir. Docks are clean. We have 16 small haulers parked here, but the controls on them have been smashed. They aren’t flyable Sir."

I replied, "Are the computers intact? Can they be flown remotely?"

Fachetti replied, "I didn’t think to check for that Sir. I’ll be right back."

The first of the shipping containers was pushed onto the auto-pallet. A switch was toggled and the auto-pallet came to life. The container rose five centimeters off the port floor. It could now easily be pushed around by an individual.

I spoke, "Let’s get half a dozen of these containers floating and see if we can use them as cover to move in closer. Aaron, keep your squad here and provide cover. We are going to try for that wall just down and to the right of the control room. If this works, I want you to take those remaining pallets and move to a position to the left. From there we will attempt to move in."