Star Crusades by Michael Thomas (whitelam books txt) 📗

“Perhaps.”

Then came a sound none of themwanted to hear, and right away warningsymbols appeared to show additional ships in the area.

“Five more attack ships,”said Lieutenant Zimmer.

“That puts them on eight to tenships by now, and there could be more,” said Captain Regina,“General, are you seeing this?”

“Yes. This is not good.”

“What are your orders? Dowe stand and fight, or withdraw until theheavies arrive.”

The General considered that for only afew seconds,

“We cannot be chased through thissystem. It’s their territory, and we haveno idea what to expect. And I am not chasing them without moreinformation.”

CaptainRegina nodded in agreement. It was a well-considered response andnot what she expected from the General’s reputation. Two morestreaks of fire reached out into space, and one of the assaultcarriers responded. The surface blasts were significant, but thistime the same battery fired back.

“I say we establish a blockadearound this planet at maximum range. We will engage their ground defences wherever we find them. Allthat is required is that we hold for just under six hours. Nothingcomes in or out of this area. We wait until the heavies arrive, andonly then do we break away to clear the system.”

Captain Regina exhaled as herattention turned back to the planet. Thegunfire had still not resumed, but she was certain it would comeback the moment they moved into range. Even as she looked at it, apulse of light rushed up and came perilously close to one of theships.

“General, I have another idea.”

“Go on.”

“We have the IAB waiting here for combat, over five hundred IABmarines, more than a hundred Novas, and thirteen hundred Grunts.Let’s get them to work.”

Gunlooked at her over the videostream and grinned.

“You shame me, Captain.”

“Not at all, General. But we havethe combat assets ready to go. They couldbe on the surface in thirty minutes and eliminate thosedefences.”

“What about the planet’sgarrison? My techs say there are millionsof life signs down there.”

She looked at him and then nodded.

“It’s the IAB. Like us, they just haveto hold.”

“I like it.Yes…it will be done, and I will take theminto action.”

That piece of news stunned her.

“General. The Fleet?”

He hesitated, and then grunted infrustration.

“Captain, if you are ever giventhe chance of promotion, do not take it.There is a lot to be said for remaining in command of a single shipor company of marines.”

She laughed at that, muchto her surprise. Gun’s kind was not exactlyrenowned for their eloquence or humour; something she was beginningto realise was a great disservice to them. A streak of light cameso close it almost struck Nautilus. It detonated three hundredmetres away and destroyed a pair of Avenger drones.

* * *

Valentine waited in silence withthe other Novas as the motorised platformlifted the Jackal up into position. Their usual boisterousconversation had stopped several minutes ago, to be replaced bynothing but the constant hum inside the Jackal. Another loud bangshook the ship, and then the unmistakable sound of gunfire as theship’s weapons continued to fire.

Tex, anything outside?

All external feeds are offline.

Valentine sighed in irritation.Her ability to see outside was one of the benefits of the fullyintegrated system she was now part of. In theory, she could see from any camera she was authorised to usethat was networked to her armour. Something else slammed into theJackal.

“Sitrep,” said LieutenantFletcher, “The planet below, designatedEkati Alpha is our target. This is a planet that makes EridaniPrime seem like a holiday resort. No breathable air and a brutallytoxic atmosphere. But best of all, a good chunk of this rock issolid diamond.”

Valentine could hardly believe what shewas hearing.

“A diamond?” asked one.

“Yes, there’s a lot of carbonhere, and at one time this planet was a lot closer to thestar. All you need to know is it’s rocky,mountainous, and covered in the sharpest edges and points you willever encounter. Land on a spike, and it will rip through yourarmour like it was tissue paper. This is a world for those that donot like walking.”

Sounds aboutright. Perfect for an avianspecies.

Valentine smiled at the sarcasticcomment from Tex. She had missed hisdulcet tones, but more importantly, he had evolved over the timethey’d been together. Most of the other AIs used by the Novas werequite passive, but Valentine had pushed back and treated it like afriend. The banter was one of the things that helped keep her sanein combat and kept her focused.

You’re notwrong, Tex. Not by a longshot.

“Sir, you said Ekati Alpha.That’s the planet?” Kalliasasked.

“Affirmative. The planets andastronomical objects in this system have been name for famousdiamond mines on old Earth. Until we know better, that’s itsdesignation. And as the biggest in the system, this one is calledAlpha.”

His eyes burned with purpose as hecontinued explaining.

“There’s an entire nest ofSki’ligs on the surface, and tactical has located multipledefensive installations buried deep inside the planet. It’s afortified world, and they’re hitting our ships hard with theseweapons. Two have damaged IS drives, and that means those ships arenow stuck here. So we’ve been called in to provide the welcomewagon to Ekati.”

A few nodded in agreement.

“Ekati Alpha might be well defended, but I promise you theyhave seen nothing like us before. Now,here are our coordinates. Moratos will go in and deploy Jackals asclose as they can reach. We can go lower and faster than the bigbirds. Novas are going in first and right behind a barrage oftorpedoes. IAB marines and support assets will follow right behindus.”

“We’re hitting the surfaceright now?” Sergeant Jablonsky asked, “Iunderstood we were being held back until the fleetarrived?”

“The plan’s changed already.There are Ski’lig ships in the area, and the fleet is being pulledback to this planet to a rally position that can bedefended.”

He lifted a finger to draw attention tothe next point.

“But wecannot stay here while these weapons remain active. A few morehours of this, and the fleet will be a burning ruin. That means1st Platoon is going to be right at the tip of thespear.”

The Sergeant checked the data on hisvisor and then shook his head.

“That’s an area the size of oldManhattan.”

“Old what?”

Valentine could hear them, but she hadno idea what he was talking about either.

“1st Platoon is going