Crusade For Vengeance (Dark Vengeance Book 2) (42 page)

“How many?”

“The whole Company, Ma’am.”  He answered, his eyes looking straight in front of him, over her head.

“Why?”

“After I met you in the alleyway, I reported it to Major Forlani.  She guessed what happened to your family.  We then talked to the rest of the Company.  They were all eager to assist you, Major!”

The box creaked at the mention of her family.  The rage fought to be free and she forced it back.

“The Rebels?”

“After Hanna lost contact with you on Ison Island, she made contact with us through my cousin Cherilyn.”

“Cherilyn..?” Valerie mused out loud.  The name tickled a memory in the back of her mind and then it became clear.  “That was the woman in the alley.  I didn’t recognise her.  She faked her own death to join the rebellion and you’ve been working with her.”  Valerie shook her head in wonder.  Her most trusted soldier was part of the rebellion and she hadn’t known.  She pushed it away.  It didn’t matter, not any more.  Here he was breaking her out of prison, she could hardly complain.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Alright.  I understand.  Report, Lieutenant.”  He also stood stiffly at attention.

“Yes, Ma’am.  Each shuttle bay of the five prisoner wings have been secured.  The crew wing is sealed.  One Company platoon is leading each assault, with one hundred and twenty Alliance Militia troops to back them up.  We have two shuttles at each bay to remove the inmates.  The rebel freighter Wandering Pony is coming in to transport everyone to a safe harbour.”

“What about the assault here?”

“C&C has been feeding me updates,” he activated his armours holo projector.  A three dimensional diagram of the prison wing hung in front of them.  “Sergeant Major Bickerstaff is leading the assault.  The guards are fortifying the admin section here, at the top of the wing.”  Red barricades flashed onto the diagram.  “This is as much as we were able to see until they took the cameras and sensors out.”

“Hanna said you were using a trunk shaft to get here.  Do you think they know what you’ve done?”

“No, Ma’am.”

“Then we have a good chance of hitting the guards upstairs in the rear.  That’ll take some of the pressure off Gil.”

“Ma’am.  My orders are to get you out of here.”

A noise that sounded a lot like a stifled laugh came from Button and she gave him a hard look.

“Sorry, something in my throat,” he said innocently.

Valerie turned back to the Lieutenant without replying.  “Have I been stripped of my rank, Lieutenant?”

“Err, no, Ma’am.  You were declared dead.”

“Am I dead?”

His face tightened at her question.  “No, Ma’am.”

“Then I have seniority over Major Forlani and certainly over yourself.  We will be doing this my way.  Understood?”

“Yes, Major!”

“Good.  Let’s get things organised.”

Turning, she went out of the door and waved to the women supporting the three members of Shadow Company.  “Briseis and the rest of you, come with me.”  They looked at each other for a moment, before following Valerie as she led them back into the crowded guard room.  The walls of the rooms surrounding the lift entrance were too thin to stop Pulse shots.  Valerie had kept all the prisoners back here, along with her reserve.

A dozen women were inside armed with Pulse rifles.  None were fully armoured.  They had scrounged whatever they could.  Behind them, filling the back of the room and all along the walkways looking down on the playpen, was everyone else.  No one wanted to be left below.

“Did I hear right?”  Quin asked, from her position at the controls with Todd, Ingrid and Luisa.  “Those are Legion Commando Devils out there and they’re your old Company?”  Everyone turned to look at her in disbelief and not a little worry.

There was anger in Quin’s voice.  “Yes.  They’ve joined the Rebellion.  We don’t have time for long explanations if we want to get out of here and I really don’t know the full story.  The guards have consolidated their strength at the top of the wing.  The main rescue force has to go through them to free everyone else.  I’m going to lead the Devils to hit the guards in the rear.  Are there any volunteers?”

“We will gladly fight beside you.”  Briseis agreed instantly, with enthusiastic nods from both Cheimon and Phrike.

“Is it true the Blaze gangs are here as well?”  Ruby asked.  She was one of the four women who Valerie picked to assist her and the Spartans at the entrance.  She and her three friends were originally from the Pantheon system of Carthage.  Valerie hadn’t had the time to get the full story, but it was obvious she was a powerful player in the Underworld there.

“Yes.  I don’t know much yet, but there are a hundred Enforcers from Blaze here on the Rock right now, working with the Rebellion.”

The woman nodded.  “We’ll come with you.”

“Good,” Valerie looked around the room.  “Anyone else?”

A number of women put their hands up and Valerie took a quick head count before nodding.

“Make sure you’ve got grav-belts and come with me.”  There were twenty-three in total and it took a few minutes for them to get organised.  While they sorted themselves out, Valerie took Briseis, Ruby and their people back to Shadow Company.  She waved for Quin to come with them.

“Lieutenant.”

“Yes, Major?”

“I’ve got twenty-four women here, myself included, who will assist you in the attack.”

“Major, with all due respect, I don’t think bringing untrained civilians along is a good idea.”

“Noted, Lieutenant, but these three women are experienced Spartan Hoplites who would easily match any Marine.  Ruby is a former member of the Carthage Underworld.  I’ve learnt over the last couple of years the gangs are not to be underestimated.  The rest are all former military from outside the Pantheon, Rebels and Criminals.  They know what they’re doing.”

“Yes, Major.”

“Good.  Bring up the wing’s schematic.”  The Lieutenant did as he was told and Valerie studied it a second time.  With a plan in mind, she looked to those around her.

“Alpha team will be the breach.  Hard and fast.  If you see a threat, take it out.  Briseis, I want you and the Spartans to lead team two.  Pick the best of who we’ve got and come in behind Alpha.  Sweep and secure, make sure no threats have been missed.  Ruby, you’ll have the rest as team three.  Secure our way in.  Your job is to stop anyone hitting us in the backs.  It is entirely possible there are guards still on other levels who could decide to join the fight.  Quin, set up barricades at the doors here.  You’ll have a few Pulse rifles and plenty of Mag pistols to make any guards trying to get in here regret it.  Any questions?”

“Where will you be, Major?”  Lieutenant Saito asked.

“With you.”

“Major, they’ll certainly be armed with Pulse rifles.  That armour is not going to protect you.”

“I’m very aware of that, Lieutenant.  This isn’t my first mission.  I’ll pair with Button.  We know each other’s moves well enough.  I can use his armour as a shield without slowing him down.”

“Thanks, Major.  I always wondered why you kept me around.”  Button called from his position guarding the entrance with the rest of Alpha team.

“What do you expect after I find out you’ve been working for the Rebellion under my watch.”  She shot back and if felt like the banter she had enjoyed on countless missions with him.  For a moment it was like the last few years were washed away and then the pain was there again.  She shook it off and continued with her briefing.

“Wester and Richings will be the Forlorn Hope.  Button and I’ll be right behind them.  Lieutenant, you and Guggenheim come in last.  Anything happens to me, you’re in charge.  Anything else?”

There were shakes of heads from all around.  “Good, Briseis and Ruby get your people ready.  Lieutenant, tell Gil and Command the plan.”  As everyone headed off to carry out her orders, Valerie walked over to Button and fitted her helmet back on.

“Nice to see you back in charge, Major,” he said.  “With all respect to Major Forlani, she’s not you.”

“He’s right,” Wester agreed, “and I think I say from all of us how sor-”  She stopped in mid-sentence as Valerie held up her hand abruptly.

“I don’t want to hear it, not here, not now.”  Even through her helmet’s external speakers, Valerie could hear the freezing temperature of her own voice.  It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have.

“Did everyone in the Company agree to join?” she asked.

“Mostly, Major.”  Corporal Richings said.  “Major Forlani arranged for us to leave under the pretext of a mission.  We couldn’t risk saying anything to Lieutenant Saito or Captain Gibson until were well underway.  The Lieutenant was right behind us, but Captain Gibson strongly disagreed.”

“I see.  I can’t say I’m surprised.  What happened?”

“Major Forlani shot him when it was clear he was never going to join us.”

“Ah.”  Valerie tried to feel some regret at the death of her former second in command.  It just wasn’t there.  He was a brave man and a good soldier, but the way he treated the troops, who risked their lives with him, now epitomised for her the Privileged attitude.  It was just that lack of caring for others’ lives that had killed her family.

“He never did understand the key principles of why the Company was so successful.”

“No, Major and no one objected to what happened.  They all understood why Major Forlani had to kill him.”

Nodding her understanding, Valerie stood with her team.  She couldn’t help think of the last time she saw them.  The Company had returned from their successful mission on Gomez, on board the heavy cruiser PLN Wishart.  After the normal debriefs and after action reports Valerie needed to have on Furioso, she met up with the team for a game of cards.  These men and women relied on her to lead them into battle and she relied on them to support her.  She made a point of socialising with them at the end of each mission, once they were home and all the reports complete and meetings were finished.

It was a time for them all to wind down and chat about whatever they wanted off the record.  Valerie supplied the beer and they brought the food.  That night was like all the others and until now, she had forgotten how much she enjoyed it.  The next morning they all headed off on leave and Valerie flew home to her family.  Since then she thought she was never going to see them again and if she did, they would never forgive her.  Not just for Furioso, but also for letting her family die.  Now they came to the Rock to rescue her because they chose to.

“Thank you.”  The words were out of her mouth before she fully realised she was going to say them.

“I’m sorry, Major?” Button asked.  “What was that?”

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.  “You heard.”  In his armour it was impossible for him not to. 

“Something must be wrong with my armour, Major.  I’m sure you said something, but it came through all garbled.”

The smile formed almost on its own.  “I said thank you.  Not just for today, but for all the times the four of you have watched my back and kept me alive.”

It shouldn’t be possible in their massive armour, but there was a perceptible shift, as they all stood a little straighter.

“You’re welcome, Major,” Richings said.  “We all owe you our lives many times more than we’ve been able to return.  I can safely say, for all of us, we would follow you wherever you need us.”

“Major,” Lieutenant Saito said stepping over.  “All set.  Sergeant Major Bickerstaff is ready to move on our word.”

“Excellent, Lieutenant.”  She turned down the corridor to where Briseis and Ruby were assembling the prisoners.  “How are we looking?” she called down to them.

The tall Spartan nodded to the Carthage criminal and waved her back.

“We are ready for battle, Valerie.”

After nodding to Briseis, Valerie looked to Richings.  “We’re up.  Call it, Corporal.”

“Yes, Major,” the woman said with an unexpected salute.  “Wester, you’re point.”

“Gee, thanks Corp.”  The Private said, but her actions contradicted her words.  She didn’t hesitate as she took up position at the open doors.  The rest fell in closely behind her and Valerie’s view was blocked by Button’s bulk.

Corporal Richings waited ten full seconds for everyone to get ready, before her voice echoed off the metal walls.

“GO. GO. GO!” she shouted.  On the third go, Wester would have stepped off into the shaft and initiated her grav-belt at full power.  When they came up the shaft initially, they would have done so as a gentle rise, to ensure they didn’t hit anything accidently and alert any guards on the other levels.  This time, speed ensured surprise.

Button stepped forward once, twice and then he was gone.  Valerie leapt into the shaft, her hand already on her belt controls, setting it to maximum.  A brush of the hand against the walls, as they raced past, kept her from hitting them.  Her armour and grav-belt were not designed for combat assaults and Button eased ahead of her.  Only her enhanced reactions allowed her to get into the shaft quicker than anyone else, preventing her from delaying Saito and Guggenheim below her.

The guards must have used the lift shaft to move about on their grav-belts.  The car was in the maintenance area at the very top, out of the way.  Saito reported all of the floors were sealed.   Valerie fully expected to find all of the wing’s guards in the admin area when they attacked.  Fortunately, moving the lift out of the way, gave Wester and the rest of them a clear run to their entry point.  A burst of light, beyond Button above Valerie, and a rolling thunder of an explosion marked the start of Wester’s assault.