The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison: Call Sign Reaper (37 page)

“Can you check their status?” he added.

“Let me drop out of FTL and communication will be easier.”

The doors opened. “How is everyone doing?” the prime minister asked.

“We are dropping out of FTL to send a message and check on the Warhammer. Listen to the message.” Lorelei played it again. The prime minister looked very serious.

“How long will it take for a message to reach Trillond Prime and Ares?” she asked.

“A week and a half to two weeks from here,” E’Aria said.

“That is too long.”

“Let us get a answer from the Warhammer, then we can make a plan,” E’Aria said. “Messages are traveling at sub-light speed. If we run the ship at full FTL for three days it would be like taking a week off the message time. I don’t know what this ship will do, so it’s just a guess right now.”

“How many ships can the Trillond system put into the defense?” Ben asked the prime minister.

“If we put out the call right now, we could match the invading fleet. But we won’t have that kind of time, it seems.”

“You know the Colonial Navy will send you ships also,” he said.

“Captain, we have the Warhammer on the com,” Lorelei said. The vid turned on.

“Captain O’Shaughnessy,” E’Aria said to the screen, “has there been any contact with the Cjittan?”

“Yes, Captain Aok,” O’Shaughnessy answered. “My ship is holding its own but the Morningstar has boarders. We have cleared all the small attack ships from our space except for the ones attached to the Morningstar.”

“Are you at least moving towards friendly space?” Aok asked, concerned.

“We are, but it’s at max sub-light. The Morningstar can’t go FTL with the holes in the hull. Plus they still have a full-on battle going on inside the ship. There are about 30 very tough bugs over there.”

“You have to figure out a way to speed up the pace,” E’Aria said. “You have 50 ships that are soon going to be breathing down on you. Can the Warhammer take on the crew and leave the Morningstar behind for now? Maybe you could hide it in the asteroids with a skeleton crew to nurse it home. We could take some of the crew off your hands.”

“Contact the other captain, Aisling,” Ben said. “Tell him there is lot more of that coming. Have the general order it.”

“That’s part of the problem, Ben,” O’Shaughnessy said. “The general took some shrapnel, and the admiral and colonel are trying to take charge.”

“Talk to the captain,” Ben said. “Evacuate the Morningstar. Have them clear a path to the cargo bay and start getting people off that ship. Have you heard from Andrea? Are they holding their own, do you know?”

“It’s not good, Ben. Some of your team has been killed. As soon as they got onboard they were relieved of their weapons. In her last message she said the admiral and the colonel had roughly twenty crewmen who were armed with lasers surrounding them. They have a few lasers the others discarded and their knives. They made their way to the general and Ronnie is taking care of him, but the team isn’t going to hold out long with those weapons.”

Ben’s knuckles were white, he was gripping the back of the chair so hard. “Captain Aok,” he said tersely, “can we turn this ship around and see what her max FTL is?”

“Aisling,” he said to the com, “if you can tell Andrea and the team to hold out, I’m coming.  Tell the captain I will need access to the shuttle dock. I’ll get the bugs off his ship.”

“So your name is Ben,” the prime minister said. He nodded.

“You know your friends could be dead by the time we get there, and we could be next if that Cjittan fleet is there,” she said.

“Yes ma’am,” he said. “That’s why Lorelei will fly the Claymore away once the gunship has cleared the doors.”

“You would put E’Aria’s life at risk as well?”

“E’Aria can drop me off in the hangar and leave to catch up to you.”

“I will not!” E’Aria yelled. “Those are my friends as well. We will save anyone who can be saved. Your counsel is sound, dear aunt, but I am afraid I cannot accept it. Lorelei, come here.”

“Yes Captain,” Lorelei responded.

“This will turn on an auto self defense mode,” E’Aria said, gesturing to a button. “If anything happens, you won’t have time to fly and fight. Touch this light and it will engage and you will only have to identify the friendly ships and it will track and destroy anything else.”

“How fast are we traveling, Captain?” Lorelei asked. She looked over E’Aria’s shoulder and smiled. “Nine times FTL,” she said. “We will be there in 15 minutes.”

“Won’t they be surprised,” Ben said. “Let’s suit up, Captain. It’s all about the guns this time. I’m going to carry extras to give the team.”

Ben had three rail pistols, one on each hip and one on his chest, and two rifles, one in front and one hanging on his back. A shoulder bag held power and ammo packs. E’Aria was loaded down as well, but she had her twin short swords and held her nodachi in her hand. She handed it to Ben. “You take this. I would feel better if you did.”

They boarded the gunship and prepped it. When Lorelei opened the doors, they were ready to go. He took off the rifles and put the nodachi on, then put the rifles back on. He put his helmet on and locked it down. Lorelei announced the doors were opening and the area was clear of hostiles.

“Lorelei, head away at full sub-light. Things go well, we will catch up shortly,” Ben ordered. He turned on the com. “Aisling, are you there?”

“Go ahead, Ben.”

“Is the captain of the Morningstar on board with the plan?” Ben asked.

“He is, and I have him patched in,” O’Shaughnessy said.

“Okay, good,” Ben said. “We are making our approach. Captain, do you have anyone you can send us who is loyal to you?”

“I do,” he replied, “and they are already there and waiting on you.”

“I am going to apologize in advance for the small holes I’m going to make in your ship,” he said, “but for every hole there will be a dead unwanted boarder next to it.”

“Sounds like a fair trade,” he chuckled. “These bastards are hard to kill.”

“We are landing right now. See you in a little while.” The screen went dark.

E’Aria spun the gunship so it was facing out of the cargo bay. The opened the starboard side main door. Ben looked out first, scanning for movement. When he felt it was clear, he moved to take up position behind some crates. He gave E’Aria the all clear sign and she stepped out and shut the door. A group of navy and marines approached them a bit warily. They had only heard of Reaper and his team but never seen him.

“Who is in charge?” Ben asked.

“I am, sir.” Lieutenant Strakowski stepped forward.

“Lieutenant, tell me what you know,” Ben said.

“The bugs are moving in groups of three or four, sir,” Strakowski said. “They are making a systematic sweep of the floors. Some of them have crew pinned down and aren’t in any hurry to move on.”

“Can you get me to General Grey, Lieutenant?”

“Yes sir. He is not too far from the bridge,” the lieutenant said. “They have piled up furniture in the corridor, for what little good it does.”

“Get me there first. Is that corridor empty?” Ben asked.

“Yes sir, just the marines who are with the general, three or four.”

“We will form two groups,” Ben said. “Captain, take the lieutenant and half the men and clear the left side of the corridor and I will take rest on the right side.”

Ben had a staff sergeant as his second. He took out a pistol and dialed it down. He handed it to the sergeant.

“Even at this setting, it should blow a hole in these bugs, but hopefully not the ship,” he explained. “If it does go through the ship, grab a dead bug and cover the hole with it. It should suck the shell up tight and hold until we can get out of here. You get the idea. We need the force field keeping those huge holes closed.”

They walked in on three of the bugs eating. Reaper could see the black armor-covered legs lying on the floor but couldn’t see the rest of the body. He opened fire with the pistol. Green gore splatter covered the walls. One turned its head toward him and opened it mandibles and mouth, letting out a screech that was cut short by molten tungsten ripping the top of its head off. He heard yelling in the corridor and saw a marine pinned to the floor by another bug. Before it could do anything else, the sergeant put two rounds into its head. The marine scrambled back to the wall with the team. They heard firing across the corridor. The team came out a few seconds later.

“How many?” he asked.

“Two,” E’Aria answered.

“That’s five so far, and we aren’t halfway yet.”

He handed the sergeant a new power pack and ammo. “Load this up and make sure you have a green light,” he said. “Put the partial in your belt.”

He turned to the group. “How are the rest of you?”

“Scared shitless,” one of them said.

“Good answer,” Ben said. “Keep your wits about you and don’t let the fear take control. Being scared is normal.”

Everyone in the corridor was listening to him. They all nodded. “Are any of you expert pistol marksmen?” he asked. A female corpsman raised her hand. He walked over to her.

“I’m going to give you this pistol,” he said. “You are going to cover the rear. So far everything we have shot with these is dead. If you’re really good, just take a breath and blow the fucker’s head off. It will be that ugly thing with the mouth trying to eat you.” He patted her on the shoulder.

They moved on forward and cleared three more rooms. They were almost to the barricade. He looked over and E’Aria held her fist up. She pointed to the room they were about to clear. He motioned for his team to move back and so did E’Aria. It was a good call, because three six-legged mantis-like creatures came out into the hall. Their angular heads with big eyes studied the situation. They stopped and studied Ben the longest. They started chittering and making clicking noises with their mouths.

Ben walked a couple of steps toward them with his pistol in his hand. “I don’t know if you can understand me,” he said, “but you need to try really hard.”

He holstered his pistol and showed them his hands. “The Allith have lied to you to get you to do their fighting for them. If you continue, I will show you no mercy.”

The lead mantis moved forward slowly. It raised one of its front legs and slowly reached out and tapped the Reaper on his chest. He reached back slowly and pulled out the nodachi. It was quiet enough that everyone could hear it slide free. He held it out in front of him. The mantis took in the whole picture. The nodachi was longer than the first section of its front leg. This must have meant something to them. They bent and lowered heads to the floor.

“E’Aria,” he said, “move your team into that room out of the corridor. Sergeant, move our team into that room. Do not bunch up. Spread out and keep your weapons ready but safe.”

Ben bowed slightly to the lead mantis and stepped out of the way. They straightened themselves and walked with their heads down, past him and down the corridor. They made some shrill calls and clicking noises. The teams came back out to the corridor and moved enough furniture to get behind it. The door to the room where the general was had been opened part way and three people were watching.

Ben stood in front of the barricade, watching the mantis trio. He could hear the sound of a lot of legs coming his way. Most of the bugs looked like beetles or roaches. One of them saw him standing there and made a run past the mantis, but it wasn’t fast enough. The mantis turned and brought its front leg down and through the beetle’s back pinning it to the floor. It shrieked and squirmed until the other leg came down and took its head off.

The mantis raised its legs and licked them off. He looked at Ben once more and left. He followed and saw what they were doing. They were all moving towards the hold. E’Aria and Lieutenant Strakowski had followed him.

“Put somebody down there to keep an eye on them,” he said. “Lieutenant, inform the captain that it looks like they are leaving. If they see a ship approaching, do not fire on it unless it scans weapons hot. I think it will be their ride.”

“How do you know what they are doing?” the lieutenant asked.

E’Aria laughed. “His gut tells him.”

“What she said,” Ben replied. “Now where are the admiral and the colonel holed up?”

“They’re in the mess. They barricaded it with tables.”

“Is this ship laid out like the Warhammer?”

“Yes sir, it is,” the lieutenant said. “They have about 25 crewmen in there with them. Some are there against their will.”

“Lieutenant,” Ben ordered, “go back to where the general is and get me a head count on my team and the condition of everyone. I know we have lost at least one. The captain here will ping you so you have her com. Let’s go Captain, we have some people to talk to.”

They found the mess. There were a couple of guards on the other side of the barricade of tables and chairs.

One laughed. “You weren’t really so tough now, were you.”

“I don’t think we have met,” Ben growled.

The other saw the red eyes and symbol on the chest.

“Oh shit, it’s Reaper,” he yelled, and he started backing up from the entry. Ben ran and jumped, kicking the table top and knocking it into the guard, who thought it was funny. He pushed on two other ones and the whole mountain of tables fell over. He pushed another out of his way and walked into the mess.

E’Aria had her pistol out and ready. Ben was just flexing his fingers in and out of a fist. He spotted the two he wanted and headed in their direction. The first two officers who tried to get in his way were on the floor. He didn’t even miss a step.

Then he stopped. “I understand some of you didn’t want to be here,” he said. “Is that true?”

Some were nodding their heads. “You need to leave now and stay away from the cargo bay,” he told them. “Check in with the captain so he knows you’re alive and get ready to leave.”

A major who thought he was going to try and take charge stepped towards Ben. “Who put you in charge—” was all he said before the big black fist connected with his mouth and broke his teeth off at the gums. It lifted him up and off his feet. He lay on the floor, spitting blood and teeth.

Ben looked around the room for the ones wearing the rail pistols. The admiral and colonel each had one. There were two other crewmen who had one hanging on their hip.

“Everyone with a pistol like this, you need to loosen the belt, drop it to the floor and move over by your leaders,” Ben said. “If you reach for the pistol, I’ll kill you.”

One decided to test this. Ben shot him. The hole was huge. Some of the crew were on the floor and staying down. One pistol hit the floor. E’Aria had hers drawn, covering everyone. She walked over and collected the two off the floor. The crew member stood by the officers like he had been instructed too.

The colonel and the admiral hadn’t moved. “I will give you two the count of three to drop the pistols, or I’ll shoot you,” Ben warned. Evidently the colonel didn’t know where the buckle was, because his hand was reaching was reaching for the butt of the pistol when Reaper shot and took four of his finger off. The admiral got so nervous she couldn’t unbuckle the belt. E’Aria walked over and unbuckled it for her.

“You!” Ben pointed to an ensign who was too scared to move. “Collect all these belts and pistols and take them to anyone in a black set of armor like this over by the bridge.”

E’Aria got the call from Lieutenant Strakowski. Matt, Snake, and Ronnie were uninjured. Gunny and Genius were injured but would live. Mumbles and Hillbilly were dead. They didn’t know were Andrea was. She had been taken by the colonel and his crew when they took their weapons.

“Where is Major Andersen?” Ben shouted. He looked around the room. No one would meet his eyes except the admiral, who stared defiantly now. Ben’s eyes landed on the sergeant who worked in the mess. He motioned with his head back behind him in the kitchen.

“E’Aria, if any of them move a muscle, shoot them. Shoot as many as you like if one of them moves,” he said. He walked behind the food tables and followed the sergeant to the cooler. He opened it.

She had been beaten, and her face was bruised and bloody. He picked her up gently and carried her. He sobbed and held her to him, kissing her face softly. He put his ear to her chest and heard her heart beat.

“Sarge,” he said, “can you get me some blankets?” He was gone a minute and back with three blankets. Ben wrapped her up. She still had her armor on and a thermal suit, so other than her head she was not freezing.

“Who did this, Sarge? Did you see which ones?” Ben asked.

“I saw the whole thing, sir. The one who you hit in the mouth, that major. He and the big sergeant out there held her while the colonel beat on her. The admiral stood there and kept asking her questions about who you are,” the sergeant said. “You’re Reaper, isn’t that right sir? They wanted to know who you are.”

“They’re about to find out, Sarge,” Ben said quietly. He carried Andrea out and E’Aria saw her and ran to her. “Who did this?” she asked.

“Call Ronnie and see if she can get free to come down here on the double,” Ben replied, standing and turning to the crowd.

“You! Sergeant and you!” he shouted. “Major Toothless, get your ass up off the floor. Colonel Stubby and Admiral No-Name. Let’s go, you’re under arrest for assault. You either come or I’ll shoot you right where you stand.” The four of them started moving slowly.

“Let’s go, pick up the pace,” he yelled. “Your fucking legs all work fine for the moment.” He kept insulting them as he herded them down the corridor. They were all so lost in thought they didn’t pay attention to where he took them until it was too late. He herded them right into the cargo bay, which was strangely quiet. He thought he was too late. But they started pushing back and he shoved them, stepped in and pulled the door shut behind him. They were looking at him like he was crazy, and he was. The rage inside had caused him to snap. He looked down at thousands of eyes staring up.

He saw the three mantis and said, “I brought you a snack for the road.” He laughed but it was off. One of them actually nodded. That wasn’t good. They really did understand. Good.