Star Crusades by Michael Thomas (whitelam books txt) 📗

butthe Jackal being lifted to the platforms along the top of the ship.It didn’t take long as soon the dropship rocked gently while theywaited atop the frigate.

“Detaching!” said a voice towardsthe front. Valentine smiled as sherecognised the sound of their pilot, the daring LieutenantSterling, “This won’t take long.”

Valentine nodded toherself and then remembered she’ddeactivated her Cortex’s ability to initiate communication. With nomore than a thought she activated the unit, and he sprung tolife.

Well, that’s better.

Valentine laughed to herself as sheheard the reassuring sound of her friend.

Tex, good to be back.

I see you’vesustained multiple repairs since you were last active. I’m showingninety-eight percent effectiveness. You need more time to…

Enough.Not now. Test my gear.

Affirmative.

Only then did she look back to the other three members of her unit. Alexiswas busily chatting with Sergeant Jablonsky, but Hawkins andKallias were both surprisingly silent.

“You two good to go?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Kalliassaid, “I’ve been itching to teach myhomebody Hawkins another lesson on combat.”

Hawkins stared back at him, doing his best to hide hissmirk.

“That’s rich from a city boy.Have those hands ever worked a day in their lives?”

“Don’t hate me for being from Prime,space boy.”

They both laughed, and Valentinelooked back to Alexis and shook her head. For all the differencesin upbringing and culture, the two men were so much alike. Kalliaswas from the rich and successful industrial world of Proxima Prime, while Hawkins came froma struggling family originally from Carthago. Like his parents hewas highly religious, and ever critical of those from Terra Nova.They were nothing alike, but when in the armour, what differencewas there?

“Okay…” said theLieutenant, “We’re in position. This willbe a standard insertion from two hundred metres.”

“We’re not using the umbilical?” Alexis asked.

“Not today, Corporal.There’s a chance the ship may be booby trapped.We don’t want to lose a lance and a Jackal in one day. Even oneNova is too much for searching space junk.”

“Man,” muttered Kallias,“I know Hawkins ain’t worth much, but that’sharsh.”

His friend shook his head in feignedanger.

“Enough,” said Alexis,“Get on mission.”

Kalliasmight have been enjoying the moment, but those few words from theCorporal instantly silenced him. He looked around to the others,and then nodded to Alexis.

“Good,” she said as a warning sounded inside the craft. SergeantJablonsky said a few words to the Lieutenant, and then looked backto the Novas.

“3rd Lance…Go!”

Valentine smiled as she descendedto the underside of the Jackal, almost as though she was littlemore than a bomb. Once through the sealed hatches she wasjettisoned with a puff of gas and throwntowards the clouds of wreckage.

“Good hunting!”Lieutenant Fletcher said as he moved ahead ofthe others. He quickly darted in and out of the wreckage withimpressive speed.

Wow!Not bad! Valentine thought.

“Novas,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “Use your thrusters and make formarked waypoints. Move in pairs.”

Valentine moved closer to Hawkins, and Kallias did the same withAlexis. It was a manoeuvre they had practiced many times before.Valentine looked directly ahead, and for nearly a minute she feltlike a superhero. Her bulk and weight meant nothing in the vacuumof space, and she felt fast and free. The enemy ship was rightahead, and she could see the breaches marked on hervisor.

“Going in now!”

She lifted her hands to protecther face as she whooshed in through thebreach and towards the inner walls. Just moments before crashinginto the metalwork, she rolled about, slamming into the wall feetfirst. Her legs compressed and then slowly expanded back out asthey locked into the metalwork. Kallias came in right behind her,and once landed, he deployed his arm guns and tracked fortargets.

“Looks clear to me, Val.”

Valentine nodded andpushed away, so that she was floating once moreand reverted to her thrusters. They were small additions to theRhino armour and only capable of use in a weightless environment.On the surface of a planet, they would prove useless.

“Look,” she said as they pushed through a warren of broken cabling,some of which pulsed blue with energy, “This ship took abeating.”

“Yeah.And the crew didn’t do much better.”

They entered a shattered internal space so severely damaged it wasdifficult to tell what shape it had been. There were patterns likeblood over the walls, as well as parts of the crew drifting about,each frozen solid in the cruel, frozen temperature.

“Death in space is nevernice,” said Valentine.

“Agreed.”

They moved onwards,pushing past floating wreckage and into apassage half torn open and exposed to the elements.

“Valentine. Reportin,” said Sergeant Jablonsky, “Foundanything yet?”

“Negative, just wreckage andbodies.”

She had to pull her arms intight, as they floated through two moresections and then worked their way further inside the ship. Bluelight still ran along parts of the interior, though most was ascold as the air outside.

“We’re past theworst of the damage.” They passed on bytwo more bodies. These were fully intact, though their limbs werebent back into impossible positions.

“Blunt force trauma,” saidKallias, “They hit somethinghard.”

As theypushed forward, Valentine spotted something ahead.

“Sergeant, I’ve got a brightlight directly ahead. I’ve tagged it andmoving in to investigate.”

“Good work. Check for traps, and thencheck again.”

“Yes,Sarge.”

They moved another fewmetres when a great gout of gas eruptedfrom the right. A moment later it ignited and sent a cloud of firetowards them.

“Get back!” Kallias yelled.

Hetried to grab Valentine, but she used her thrusters and pushedthrough the fire. Some of her armour ignited, but the lack of airand the frozen temperature stopped it as quickly as it had begun.She pushed on ahead, while Kallias watched her.

“Val, you’re crazy!”

“Up to you, Kallias. Staythere, or come with me.”

He grunted and then followedthrough the fireball. As he reached theother side, he had to veer away before almost crashing intoValentine. She was floating in the middle of a ruined space filledwith half-functioning displays, as well as another group ofbodies.

“I can’t believe it.” Valentinelooked at the data, “We’ve got it. Theywere in the middle of escaping when they were crippled.Look!”

“Whatdo you mean? How can you tell?”

“I’ve seen these glyphs before. Tex isrunning a translation on them now.”

Valentine reached forward andpointed to the star system shown in thedisplay. It was one of several and surrounded by a blinking marker.Whatever it was, the place was clearly the most significant in theentire area.

“That right there. That’s wherethey had set their coordinates for