Ghost Soldiers (5 page)

“They’re clear,” said Khan.

While listening to his friend on the audio channel, he activated the close quarter mode on his arms and proceeded to batter and smash two of the Vanguards into a mass of broken metal. The other two staggered back and blasted apart another two Grunts. One took aim at the prisoner being taken away to the landing zone. A large machine blocked the path.

“I don’t think so,” said Khan.

The thermal weapons opened up, discharging shell after shell into the plating of the massive warrior. Each round ripped off chunks, but it was too little, too late. He then took aim and blasted the head cleanly off one of the machines. Even as the machine collapsed, he kept firing a stream of rounds directly into the next target. As the projectiles struck, he roared with delight.

“Nice timing!”

Spartan jumped amongst them and blasted the small number of Helion fighters now running for cover. One of the Vanguards came close, and he grabbed it with both arms and hurled it towards Khan. Normally, this would have been an impossible, almost herculean task, but not for him inside the Maverick armour. The enemy warrior landed at the feet of Khan, who promptly demolished it with the efficiency of an industrial machine in a junkyard. Just one more tried to put up a fight, but Spartan reserved a shot from his HEC-1 cannon for that very purpose. At a range of three metres it punched a hole through the armour and exploded inside.

“Prisoners are secure,” said Lieutenant Armstrong.

Spartan couldn’t see him, but the IFF tag showing on one of the dropships as it landed confirmed he was inside and helpers were getting the prisoners to safety. Robotic Grunts manned the flanks of the craft as they clambered inside, while above a lone Hammerhead rushed past with its guns blazing.

Good work, people, damned good work.

Two bullets bounced off Spartan’s collar, and it snapped him back to the fight. Without thinking, he spotted a vehicle packed with enemy combatants and tagged it. The HEC-1 cannon turned to the right and fired just as the massive gun on the back of the vehicle opened fire. Two Grunts were gut down before the energy blast struck it. Spartan glanced at Khan before turning his attention on the attackers.

“All units. Friendlies are out of the area. It’s time to reclaim this sector. Begin Phase Two; sweep and clear!”

Khan blasted one of the towers. The remaining Grunts fanned out, hunting down fighters wherever they found them. With the prisoners secure, it became a bloodbath as the Maverick armoured marines blasted a swathe through the area. Grunts ran amok, scattering the enemy in panic. Many more were destroyed in combat, but not before securing a total and complete victory.

In less than twenty minutes, the IAB had pacified the area so thoroughly, the Marine Corps armoured column had nothing to do but take away the wounded enemy prisoners, and to establish a small outpost. Spartan, Khan, and both Sergeant Tyler and Lieutenant Armstrong approached. They moved slowly, and Spartan could see the left leg of the Lieutenant’s armour was badly mangled and being dragged behind.

“Interesting fight,” said Sergeant Tyler.

Spartan and Khan looked at him, and the vast number of dents and marks on his armour. Even a thermal blast hole had burnt right through the suit’s wrist and out the other side. It was the damage on the Lieutenant’s leg that got most of the attention.

“Next time, maybe don’t let them hit you,” suggested Khan.

Spartan laughed.

“Yeah, you’re one to talk, old friend. Still, we did the job, but what was the cost?”

Khan nodded and looked to the right where newly arrived Marine units were using large exoskeleton Combat Engineering Suits to move the remains of the shattered Grunts. They were from the so-called Solar Warriors, and none looked overly excited to be there. The Grunts looked sad, as they lay broken and smashed throughout the compound. Some had just lost a limb or weapon; others were riddled with bullets or blown up.

“Yeah, thirty-five Grunts knocked out or damaged.”

Khan cleared his throat.

“And not one life lost, right?”

They looked at each other and at the other Mavericks already moving into their clamps on the first of the dropships. Spartan hadn’t even needed to speak with the other squads as they’d each done their job. The plan had been well made, and each unit had moved where expected and done what was required.

“That’s right,” agreed Spartan, “Nothing but broken metal, and no blood lost.”

Khan shook his head and lifted his right arm.

“Well, that’s not entirely true.”

Beneath it was a number of deep impact marks, as well as a large chunk of a broken harpoon. Blood trickled from out of the suit and down the metal lance. If it were anybody else, Spartan might have worried. But Khan just laughed it off. There were few creatures they had ever met that could withstand the damage a Jötnar could.

A great cloud of dust obscured them as dropship ‘Fury’ came in for a quick landing. The side hatches opened up, and Spartan lifted his arm to point.

“Okay, people, our job is done. It’s time to go back to the ship.”

They clambered inside until just Spartan remained. He looked back at the dust, smoke, and fires of the battle. As he waited there, he could see the battle for the city a decade earlier, the mighty Biomech war machines crashing against the long lines of defences; marines and aliens alike fighting to defend the world from machines, monsters, and waves upon wave of foot soldiers. He closed his eyes, turned away, and clambered inside the dropship.

The end of the Great Biomech War was an unusual time in the history of the Alliance. At this period, it would see the most diverse range of weapons and ships being used as it was forced to utilise assets of all its constituent colonies. The Helions predilection to the use of missiles was in stark contrast to the confrontational approach used by the Allied Byotai warships. The differences in capabilities became more pronounced, due to the heavy losses sustained in terms of ships and equipment. First generation Crusader class ships were escorted by hastily re-commissioned ships from the Uprising, while state-of-the-art Confederate class ships dashed between planets at inconceivable speeds, filled with robotics warriors and Khreenk inspired energy weapons.

Naval Cadet’s Handbook

ANS Orion, Sector Sixteen, T’Karan

The Alliance Liberty class missile destroyer fired its engines for the last time as it decelerated at the target vector. It was an ungainly looking ship, with its hull divided up into three distinct mission bays to allow it to fulfil a variety of roles. The basic hull was the same for all ships of the class, but by swapping out the bays, it could be configured with missiles, guns, marine transport containers, or supply units. Though nowhere near the most powerful ships in the fleet, they had become the workhorse for so many tasks, being both cheap to manufacture and operate.

“So, the source of the signal is definitely the derelict,” said Captain Dutch.

Images appeared on the large holographic projection and dotted lines, showing the angle, strength, and location of the signal. The signal had only begun when they were just two days from the target, and that could only mean it had come on either by accident, or someone or something had detected their presence. Ever suspicious, Captain Dutch suspected the latter.

“Send an update to Command, and bring us in closer. Not too close, though.”

He looked to his crew with a calm and relaxed expression.

“You never know what you’ll find in deep space. If it’s definitely a derelict, then the entire crew will get a percentage of the prize money.”

That seemed to have little impact on the crew, much to his surprise. Salvage rights to derelicts were a way for military and civilian crews to make a little extra money on their long trips. It was one of the primary incentives for investigating odd occurrences such as this.

They were still undergoing the final stage of deceleration towards the target, but it gave him just enough time to look at the data received so far. He had little to go on, other than it was unlikely to be a natural body, and it was larger than any vessel used by the known races.

What the hell is this thing?

They’d been on a routine patrol when long-range sensors from the Admiral Jarvis Naval Station had detected the object. No star systems were even remotely close to the T’Karan System, so any unidentified object in that region was quickly flagged and orders sent to the nearest ship. ANS Orion had been just three days out when the order had arrived, and another sixteen days for it to get to the source of the signal. Only when it reached a distance of a thousand kilometres, and had matched speed, did it perform a full rotation so that its bow finally returned to face the target.

“This is the Captain. All crew report to your stations. This is not a drill. I repeat; all crew to your stations.”

His voice was calm, as one might expect in a peacetime operation deep inside Alliance space. The war was long over, and though there were still plenty of opportunities for combat and danger, he suspected this would be nothing more than a lost ship, or a satellite that had broken free of some long lost colony of the T’Kari.

T’Karan was the unusual star system marking the last barrier between the old worlds of the human Alliance, and its new possessions in the Orion Nebula. It had been home to the T’Kari in the past, but their limited numbers were now scattered on multiple worlds, and their own colonies shared with humans, Helions, and many others. T’Karan was now more of a way station, a halfway point for those making the journey from the human colonies of what used to be the Confederacy, and the new worlds based around the transport nexus at Helios.

“Take us in closer...and contact High Command. They need to see this.”

“Aye, Sir,” replied the helmsman.

The Alliance warship groaned as her manoeuvring thrusters made adjustments. There were scores of thrusters fitted throughout and gave her a surprising degree of movement in such a short space of time. With a final burst from the main drive, the ship increased in velocity to the target.

As was normal for such a journey, there was absolutely nothing else anywhere near the two ships. Even the main star of the T’Karan System was barely visible, though clearly brighter than any other star in the sky. With them being over forty astronomical units away from the star, it was hardly surprising. The blackness of space was filled with other stars, yet nothing that the ship could reach without years of travel.

Sector Sixteen was a distant part of the T’Karan System, almost forty astronomical units from the Admiral Jarvis Naval Station. That was roughly eighteen days away at maximum burn, and quite a distance to be apart for a ship on its own. Back in the war this would have been considered suicide. No captain would take their ship almost three weeks from the safety of a station or escort vessels. But this was in the heart of the Alliance, and the missile destroyer was a strong ship, and easily capable of looking after itself.

Captain Dutch watched the mainscreen with a degree of fascination as they inched closer and closer. He’d seen all manner of vessels in the past, from the battered, improvised vessels of Khreenk mercenaries, to the traveller ships of the Klithi, but nothing like this. He turned his attention to the holographic unit in the centre of the deck and at the schematic being shown of the object.

“We have nothing on this vessel, nothing at all?”

The Captain sounded confused, almost irritated by the failure in his crew, or at the very least, in the information carried on board the ship.

Lieutenant Meyer, his tactical officer, who also doubled up as the ship’s science officer, shook his head. He’d gone through every possible ship in the database, even as far as matching powerplants and engine configurations, yet still he could not find a match.

“Sir, the ship is a derelict, and based on the condition, I’d say it’s been that way for a very long time. It shows evidence of major combat damage, but no life signs of any kind.”

“Power, weapons?”

The young officer shook his head.

“No, Sir. I’ve checked with the T’Kari registry, and they have nothing like this in their records. I can’t see who else would have left a ship out here.”

Captain Dutch had one thought on his mind, probably the same thought the rest of the crew was having.

“Biomechs?”

Again the officer shook his head.

“I don’t think so, Sir. The configuration has nothing in common with the Biomech ships. Its outer structure is relatively unsophisticated, more civilian in design.”

He looked up for a moment, considering what he’d seen.

“Best guess is that it’s a lost commercial vessel, maybe.”

Something caught his eye on the holographic unit, and he turned away to investigate.

“Odd. The main power system appeared to be online. Our scanners are showing energy levels that are…”

“What?”

The young man look back at his commanding officer.

“Uh...Sir. The levels are off the chart.”

The man sounded more excited than concerned.

“If this is right, that vessel is putting out more power than an entire space station, but it’s only three kilometres long.”

Masses of data could be seen on the central holographic unit, but there was still just the one object in view on the mainscreen. Both looked at it carefully, trying to ascertain is construction and origin. At the same time, coloured indicators showed the power spikes and their approximate location on the ship.

“Take us around. I want a full orbit of her.”

He glanced at Lieutenant Meyer.

“Get me a full scan of her, inside and out. I need every engine, gun port, and access point mapped.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Alliance destroyer moved on its long, ponderous arc. It would take over an hour to perform a full orbit, but Captain Dutch was taking no chances. As they moved on the same path, the crew recorded as much information as possible. The external cameras provided a detailed view, and sensors recorded data on every known wavelength. Active sensors bombarded the vessel, some penetrating deep inside to map out the structure, and more important to find any sign of life. The derelict ship was certainly massive and dwarfed the destroyer in every way. Captain Dutch walked about the deck and considered what lay before them. His crew continued collating everything they could find. He stopped and pointed.

“There’s something about this vessel that isn’t right. Just look at it.”

On the mainscreen it was hard to tell which part of the vessel they were looking at. It might just as easily have been a dozen ships welded together with no discernible front or rear. Only when they moved closer was it possible to make out the sections of the ship.

“Sir, I’ve got something,” said Lieutenant Meyer.

Images of smaller ships popped up onto the holographic display, and then moved on top of the schematic of the derelict. They flashed and showed as small component parts of the whole structure. The computer began identifying other sections that were clearly designed to attach together, like the components of early human space stations that were built over many years.

“It’s a modular vessel. It is not a single vessel, nothing like it, in fact. From what I can see, there are small vessels attached to its flanks, and at least two large freighter style ships on the underside. There are docking clamps and hardware to merge it together. If I had to guess, I’d say this is some sort of deep-space exploration or colony ship. The components were launched or assembled in space and then combined at that time, or during the mission.”

Captain Dutch leaned in and pointed to a single large section near the front of the ship. He assumed it was the front, based on the slightly larger number of engines on the opposite side.

“No, look at that section. What does that look like to you?”

Lieutenant Meyer looked long and hard at the section. It was roughly spherical, and at some point may have even been transparent. Most of it was heavily pitted and marked, probably due to the long duration spaceflight. For all of its wear and marks, he could easily see what it was. He leaned back and looked over to the Captain.

“That is definitely a long-duration habitation area.”

With a few movements of his hands, an array of sensors shifted direction and concentrated on that one part. Colour shapes popped up to identify materials.

“We’ve got a large quantity of petrified organic matter, consistent with a failed hydroponic setup...maybe. I could be way off base here. Whatever it was, this thing has been out of commission for a long time.”

He then looked to his Captain.

“I’m certain it’s a colony ship, and one designed for extremely long durations.”

He rubbed his head and his eyebrows rose a fraction, as he considered the vessel a little more carefully.

“There’s more, though.”

He selected additional components, especially those attached on the outermost parts of the vessel. As he did so, Captain Dutch nodded as if in agreement.

“It just doesn’t seem right, does it? The ship looks like it was thrown together, not carefully assembled in space. Remember the images of the first Mars colony?”

Lieutenant Meyer smiled grimly.

“Yes, Sir. The mission took a long time, with initial robotic trips to take supplies. The human component was assembled in space prior to heading for Mars. Back in the twenty-first century, it took a long time and a lot of planning to organise.”

Captain Dutch lifted his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

“So why build a colony or exploration ship, one that’s perfectly capable, and then add to it in such a slipshod fashion?”

The imagery shifted until a coloured line ran around the central part of the ship. It clearly marked out a massive transport vessel, the spherical section at its core. When compared to the rest of the vessel, it represented less than a quarter of its total size. Lieutenant Meyer seemed confused as he looked at the design.