Blood War 1: Last Stand of the Legion: Rift (40 page)

LYTEN SYSTEM

REFERENCE POINT 267.555

BATTLESHIP PEREUS

COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER

"
Admiral, the New York and Tokyo are beginning their runs. We have the visuals."

The cruisers were on the other side of the gaggle now and they had begun firing. Their
sixteen-inch rails and scrams had a much longer range than the destroyer’s five inchers. The big guns had been designed with bombardment of planets in mind not space ships, but they were proving themselves ideal for the job. The operator zoomed the visual in closer. Tamara could see as a salvo hit the port side of the carrier and the explosion the first salvo caused was huge. Pieces large enough to be seen on the visual hundreds of kilometers away flew off the ship. Secondary explosions could be seen inside the ship. It looked as if another salvo missed but the next would not.

Alien fighters were desperately attacking the cruisers now as the
y began to find range. Tamara could see explosions along both sides of the New York but she drove on. Her own close-in defense weapons winked as they fired on the attacking fighters. One fighter exploded but another soon took up its place. The Toyota fired a salvo and Tamara could see the big scams flash easily now. This time the salvo struck the carrier near the bow. It actually seemed to yaw with the power of the salvo.

The carrier was desperately trying to turn into the direction of the salvos in hopes of presenting a less inviting target but it was having a hard time steering. Tamara could see some of the thrusters firing but not enough to get her turned. They had her. Tamara knew that as big as she was
, she would need all the thrusters operating to get any maneuvering at all, especially if she were not under way. The engineering spaces must be going crazy trying to spin up the main engines while at the same time repairing the damage.

Tamara felt a deep satisfaction for the first time today. Luck was on their side and the crews were more than up to the task. Another salvo from the New York struck the carrier
; more debris flew off into space.

"Admiral, the Captain wanted  you
to know he has a solution and he has given the order to commence firing."

"Very well."

The huge battleship actually shuttered with the first salvo from the huge twenty-five inch rails. Tamara counted the seconds until she saw the Pereus first salvo strike the carrier. It struck near the stern and two huge holes were opened to space. The force of the explosion threw out equipment and even fighters.

"Take that you
kaking kont se kind
."

Several of the nearby sailors turned to stare at the
Admiral, as they had never heard her curse like that before. They smiled as they turned back to their stations they knew how she felt.

Lt. Steiny Man was close to the carrier when the first salvo from the battleship struck the carrier. He had never seen anything like it. The rounds were large enough that he actually caught a glimpse of one as it struck the side of the ship. When something with that amount of mass strikes another object it turns that object instantly into molten orange metal that blew inward in an ever-expanding cone of death. He almost felt sorry for the
kaks
but not really. The carrier seemed to take the salvo but she was moving slower than before.

Steiner dove for another gun run. The carrier had a few anti-fighter defenses left
but they were not effective anymore. Most of the fighters were trying to stop the cruisers now, the rest were still after the destroyers. The fire from the two destroyers plus the damage from the Capella and Bernards had begun to take its toll. Then the cruisers had their turn; they had gotten off a number of devastating salvos before they moved on, then the battleships came into range. While Steiner's gun runs did little damage compared to the larger ships, each run was for the Capella and her crew. He wanted some pay back even if was small compared to what the big boys were doing.

He drove down the length of the carrier his mini rails tearing into the myriad of equipment, housing, sensors and who knew what else that covered the upper deck of the carrier. What appeared to be a gun mount went up with
a huge explosion when his rails tore into its housing. Bodies were thrown out into space. Steiny Man only smiled - he had his concrete payback for the Capella. He broke off his attack and swung to cover the cruisers as they moved toward the main body of the fleet around Rift. He wanted to be in on the big show.

"Admiral, the carrier is dead in space."

Tamara looked up at the visual on the situational screen. The huge carrier was dead in space. She was a wreck of holes open to space and secondary explosions from bow to stern. The
Pereus shuttered again as the main batteries fired from almost point blank range into the carrier. Huge sections of the carrier were being blown completely off the ship. She was coming apart. One section of the ship that was so big you could see whole compartments still intact, slowly tumbled by the Pereus. The Captain was going to have to cease-fire now or the debris would strike them from the carrier.

"Admiral
, the Captain has just ordered the batteries to cease fire before we are struck by the debris."

"Very well
," Tamara said.

The Captain knew what he was doing. She watched as the
Rigil Kent and Groombridge each fired a final salvo. The two salvos from the battleships broke the back of the carrier, something Tamara thought they would not be able to do. The forward section of the ship was actually skewed about twenty degrees to port after the last salvo. A crack wide enough to put a destroyer in had opened amidships. If this were a sea-going ship it would have sunk immediately; instead it simply floated in space a useless hulk.

"Admiral
, the fighters and Swift Boats are reporting two alien destroyers heading directly for the carrier. They are engaging."

"It certainly took them long enough. Are there reports from the Lupus or Lalande yet
?"

"Negative
, they have changed course to intercept the alien destroyers and they expect to be able to engage any time now."

"Very well."

Ok, Tamara thought, here we go. The carrier was the icing on the cake; the real prize was the landing fleet in orbit around Rift. Without their fighter superiority they would be like sitting ducks. They would be trapped against the planet with little room to maneuver. She needed to take out the Landing Platform or whatever they called that monstrous thing but she was not sure if they could destroy something that large. The support and screening vessels was another thing. The Intel from the Legionnaires said there were close to seventy vessel of all types plus the platform. Without the supply and screening vessels she did not think the platform would stick around. So far her strategy had been right, she could hope the next phase would be equally successful.

"Put the Task Force current position on the screen
," Tamara said.

"Yes, Admiral."

The screen changed and she could see the Task Force leaving the hulk of the carrier and forming up for the attack on the Rift fleet. The Swift Boats and fighters were forming up around the destroyers and cruisers to provide screen for any fighters left and to add to their punch when they attacked the alien fleet. Their orders were to engage targets of opportunity in the same way they had when they attacked the carrier. Only this time they would stick around for as long as they could. Hit them with as much as she had all at once and keep at them.

The destroyers were headed for Rift at flank speed
with at least a squadron each of fighters around them.

"Do we have any damage reports from our ships?"

"Yes, Admiral both the Lupus and Lalande are reporting damage from fighters but their repair parties are making good headway and they are able to make all possible speed. The New York and Tokyo report only minor damage. Neither the Rigil Kent nor Groombridge report any damage. You know our condition, no damage."

The wave after wave of attacks had worked. It was hardly subtle but it had done the trick. This next part would be more difficult. There were seventy different ships against her seven ships of war and a few Swift Boats. The Legionnaires had done their job
; anything from here on in was extra. There were few alien fighters left to give anyone problems.

"Admiral, the Lalande and Lupus are engaging."

"Put them on close up."

Here we go.

RIFT

FLEET HEADQUARTERS

SIRIUS

BRIGADE COMMAND POST

ARMORED EXPEDITIONARY BRIGADE

COMMAND GROUP

General Buchman's face swam in the 3D of the jury-rigged command post.

"
Colonel Sand."

"Yes General."

"Tarawa is inbound your pos ETA ten minutes."

Finally,
Dasan thought. The plan he had devised was a dicey one that called for close coordination between the reinforcements and the troops on the ground. The fact that he could not communicate directly with them until they were in the atmosphere was a big problem. His plan had to be relayed through Buchman and the Fleet ECIC underground.

"Roger that. Reiterate my orders to the Swift Boats that I want the first gun runs to concentrate on Rigil Kent and Ly. Remind those Swift Boat drivers we are going to be in the open and to be careful with that fire. Make sure the first inserts are into Wolf and Ceti then reinforce us. After the insert we will direct the Swift Boat
s for close air support fire from then on."

"Dasan, good luck. I hope this works."

"So do I, General but if it doesn't you better pick up a rail because they will be coming for you."

Buchman chuckled.

"I knew I should have paid more attention on the range that day. Good luck Dasan."

"Thank you sir, we're going to need a little of it," Dasan said.

"Get it done Colonel."

"Roger that."

The holo disappeared. Dasan turned to Aijuba and said,

"Ten minutes. Let's start the ball rolling."

"Check."

Aijuba turned and began to snap orders to the command group to get the message out to the rest of the brigade. Dasan's plan called for every Legionnaire who could still walk to press the attack and those that could not
walk but could still pull a trigger had been stationed in covering positions. The Swift Boats would make close air support runs on Rigil Kent, and Ly. Then Sand with his remaining effective would cross the walkway. The reinforcements would land to support the attack. The Swift Boats would continue to provide close air support after the inseration of the reinforcements.

He had put
each React Team member in charge of a squad. They were leading the most physically capable of the attackers. They would be the backbone to the attack.  He walked over to where the React team was handing out ammo and weapons to their squads. He signaled for them to come over. Sergeant Elias, Masa, Yu and Taro came reported to Dasan. With their helmets hinged back they looked as tired as any man or woman in the Brigade. They had been through at least a dozen intense firefights over the last hours. Every one of them had multiple patches on their armor from various wounds. Only their discipline and will were keeping them vertical.

"Ten minutes. The Tarawa is inbound as we speak. How do they look?"

"As ready as they'll ever be sir," Taro said.

"My group is ready sir. We gave Weening, Basso and Marais their own squads so you've got the best NCO's in the Brigade on this one," Masa said.

"We decided to put Sine with you since she is the best comm tech we've got and she will be your comm to the Tarawa."

"How are we fixed for ammo?"

"We had to spread it between the troops providing covering fire and our squads. Ammo is pretty thin but, it is going hand-to-hand pretty quickly anyway unless those Tarawa guys get down here quick."

Aijuba walked up.

"Orders are out and everyone is on standby," Aijuba said.

"You aware of how the sergeants organized the attack force?"

"Yeah they checked with me as they put things together. They know what they are doing. We're ready."

Just then over the command net the sniper two floors up called in.

"Sir, I just did a sensor plant in a section of the Rigel Kent we haven't been able to reach before. You better look at this, the aliens are up to something."

"Go ahead give me and Aijuba the feed."

On Dasan’s heads up a courtyard behind Rigel Kent came into view.  A group of aliens was milling around. Their helmets or faceplates were hinged back, for all the world they looked like a group of Legionnaires in different armor. Dasan had still not gotten used to the fact they were essentially fighting human hybrids instead of some strange alien. They were laughing and joking just like humans.

The
aliens had formed a rough circle and seemed to be more excited by the minute. Then Dasan saw the naked figure of a woman pulled by her feet into the circle. She was put spread eagle on an X made of two long poles. She was screaming with fear. She had blonde hair and was bleeding from several cuts on her body. A young woman hybrid in Spike troop armor with long blonde hair suddenly jumped high in the air and swiped her across the face. It's claws tore half the woman’s face off. Blood poured down her body from the wound. The hybrids were cheering and laughing enjoying the sight of her pain. She tried to scream but there was too much blood and she choked instead.

"Sir, I got a different angle, you need to see this."

"Put it on."

The different angle was from the rear of the courtyard
. Dasan could see a pile of human remains stacked against the wall. There were men and women's bodies in the pile. They had literally been torn limb from limb. Dasan saw one man's face frozen in a horrible mask of pain and fear. The hybrids had been at this for sometime. The only humans it could be would have been civilians left in the building. The hybrids were torturing them for sport. Dasan’s blood ran cold. He was suddenly not tired anymore.

"Run this in a loop on the all-hands frequency. Can you put her out of misery and take her out?"

There was a pause.

"Yes sir, I can. I've got an angle, it won't be easy but with a smart round I can do it."

"Can you pull the trigger on a civilian?"

A male hybrid in Spike armor jumped up and ripped her abdomen open and her intestines spilled out over her lower body. He stood at her feet laughing, holding up his bloody clawed hand as the others
hybrids cheered. The sniper did not answer; instead the woman's head was suddenly blown off.

"I can pull the trigger sir
," the sniper said.

The snipers voice was different
now; a single shot had changed her. The aliens turned and looked directly at the sensor plant. They knew now they were being watched. Suddenly one hybrid dropped to the ground his head gone in a bloody splash. Then another, and another fell as the sniper worked the area before the aliens could move. Dasan hit his command channel and said,

"If there was any doubt in anyone's mind as to what we are facing, what the people we are sworn to protect are facing, then those images should end
those doubts. It must stop here. We cannot let them take Rift. We have reinforcements inbound. The Navy is attacking their fleet as I speak, now it's our turn to get some payback for that woman and all the others who have died today no matter what the cost."

Dasan paused.

"I said it earlier today. But this was a graphic example of why we must remember our oath to protect those that cannot protect themselves. The Legion is feared throughout the Confederation; let us show these
kaks
why.
Guerre à mort
."

Dasan said
guerre à mort
coldly. He had never felt it as deeply as at this moment. The garage was quiet as the Legionnaires around him watched the video again and again. Others quietly repeated the pledge to show no mercy. A number of bolts to weapons slammed shut, as magazines were jammed into their weapons. They were ready now no matter what happened.

"Colonel, I think we pissed them off they are massing for an attack," the sniper said.

The aliens from Rigel Kent were pouring out of the building in the largest attack yet. Their torturing of the civilians must have been a way to increase their blood lust for the attack. Spike troops in their lighter armor led the way, running and jumping over obstacles as they fired their weapons. The heavily armored troops came next running and firing as they came. Explosions began to strike the building creating a chaos of noise, debris and smoke. Dasan watched his troopers; no one even flinched. They just closed their helmets and shouldered their weapons; they were waiting with the patience of warriors with cold hearts and unafraid of what they faced. They were waiting to begin killing.

The snipers and every type of weapon the Brigade had, opened up on them from the floors above. The Spike troops were the first to go down. One jumped and a sniper caught it in mid-jump and the hybrid was blown in half. Others were dropping all over the boulevard. The Spike troops were getting close enough to recognize their distinctive crescents and
the animal skinhead gear. The combined fire of the snipers and those providing covering fire was decimating the Spike troops yet not one slowed; they continued to run toward Dasan and his troops.

Next came the wave of armored troops. Not as many were dropping
to the covering fire from Sirius, it was concentrated on the fast moving Spike troops. The aliens were willing to sacrifice the Spikes to let their armored troops get closer. Now covering fire from the aliens in Ly and Rigil Kent began exploding against and in the building. Dasan began to hear calls for corpsman from the floors above.

The previous attacks
on Dasan's troops should have given the alien commander a good indication of their overall strength and weak points. If he were the alien commander, he would be confident enough for a major assault now that would either push Dasan and his troops out of the building or establish a foothold.

This changed nothing about
Dasan's plan. It could be a help. If the Swift Boats could catch them out in the open with their heavy weapons they just might be able to even up the odds. As the aliens grew nearer, troops around Dasan kept glancing back at him eager for the order to attack. Dasan glanced at his watch. The Swift Boats should be here by now.

"Hold."

Nothing, still nothing from the reinforcements. Some of the Spike troops were halfway across the walkway. Behind them the wave of armored troops continued to grow, there had to be five hundred of them racing toward their positions now. More and more of the troops around Dasan were getting fidgety, moving their weapons, looking back at him wanting the order to attack. In a few more seconds the aliens would be on top of them.

"Hold."

If those Swift Boats did not get here in the next few seconds it would be too late. Then over Stine's ground-to-air comm came the Swift Boat commander.

"Get your people down, we are inbound."

Before Dasan could pass the word to the alien troops on the walkway disappeared in series of explosions as the Swift Boats made their first pass. The alien wave vanished under the smoke and fire of the explosive cannons, big mini rails and scam cannons. Armored bodies were torn apart, others thrown high in the air by the mass of concentrated fire from the Swift Boats.

"Now," Dasan said.

Dasan and his attacking force fired as one adding to the lethal combination of weapons. Through his infrared lenses Dasan could still see aliens standing. Some were actually moving toward the building. Dasan was at the front of his men; he raised his arm and shouted,

"Follow me."

Dasan raced out onto the walkway. He fired his rail from the hip as he ran, shooting at anything that moved. The walkway was a maelstrom of flying bodies, body parts, concrete and weapons. If he had not been armored he could not have taken a step outside of the building. As it was, shrapnel and debris from the explosions constantly pelted him. Aliens continued to pour out of Rigel Kent in spite of the fire from the Swift Boats. The Swift Boats were arching overhead as they lined up for another pass, alien anti-aircraft fire from Rigel Kent bouncing off of them blowing sparks and streaks of fire off their armor. The Swift Boats armor was meant to withstand the fire from destroyers and battleships, they were shaking off this ground fire as if it were nothing. A missile flashed upward toward one of the Boats but it exploded long before it reached the boat, the electronic countermeasures easily destroying the missile.

"Stine, tell boats to hit the lower floors of Rigel Kent on their next pass."

Stine was good, she was right behind Dasan firing her weapon when she replied.

"Roger sir."

Dasan fired at an armored trooper trying to stand in a pile of other armored bodies torn apart by the Swift Boats fire. It dropped back on the pile.

"They roger'd your order sir," Sti
ne said as she fired at another Spike trooper staggering around as if lost.

Dasan felt the engines of the Swift Boats as they came in for their next pass; explosions erupted out of the lower floors of Rigel Kent exactly where he had requested. It might just slow them down enough for Dasan and the Legionnaires to get a foothold on the walkway or in the building. Legionnaires were moving forward now in a disciplined and controlled assault. A fireteam or squad would take up a position behind a food pavilion or overturned mover and provide covering fire, while another squad would rush forward. The aliens had not recovered from the Swift Boat attacks; they were actually falling back.