Chapter 7

Colonel David O’lleary

Assault ship Warsong, onboard the Hidden Garden space station, Year 456

Thwarted, again.

BANG.

My fist hit the leathered brown armrest of my command chair, and everyone looked at me. Saving face doesn’t mean shit anymore if we get killed! Half of my forces have been decimated by automated defenses; I don’t understand why that woman didn’t destroy the ship. Why? Is there something she wants from us?

The communication officer interrupts my train of thought.

“Sir, we lost contact with one of the safe rooms.”

“What?!” My hand glided to the communication switch on my armrest chair and I push the button to have access to the screen attached to the chair. The cameras of the different safe rooms for the support crew are dividing the screen into four parts. There is a safe room that has gone dark, the one where the medical crew was. The darkness finally ebb and what I see horrify me! Blood and body parts everywhere in the room.

“Mother of God.” I closed my eyes, my hands trembling.

“There are intruders on the ship!!” I finally manage to yell.

Everyone freeze and look at me, surprise and dread on their faces. I don’t blame them; this whole operation is a clusterfuck.

I always thought of myself as a winner, growing up on a farm world of the Columbus treaty worlds? I knew that my fate wasn’t making radish grow and harvest them. My dream was of having adventures, nail some space babes and do everything I want. Of course, I grew out of this funk when I got a price on my head after bedding the wife of some important crime lord. Fleeing for my life I secured my safety by being under the umbrella of the meanest and dangerous mercenary outfit in human space. I advanced far in the ranks and even obtained a seat in the major shareholders of Ares. And now everything I built might get snuffed by taking a rotten contract.

“Find them!” I ordered. “We are not dying today.”

“I found one of the intruders!” Screamed the tactical officer. “Putting him on screen.”

An holo-screen appeared on the bridge wall, a black armored figure walked without a care in the corridor between the mess and the crew quarter. The armored figure was leaving blood splatters and red footprints while moving. As if that butcher felt our eyes on him he turned and watched the camera without moving. The picture wavered a bit. Words in the com system resonated.

“Tá tú marbh cheana féin*(Irish)” A cold and feminine voice said. And we lost the camera, a blank screen staring at us.

Well shit, I think I just pissed myself. I don’t understand what was said or know which language was this but it was cold and clearly something bad. When I turned to my XO to ask his input I saw him pale and shocked. Maybe he knows what the clearly feminine voice has said.

“Commander.”

“Yes, Dan?” I asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“She said we are already dead.”

And this is where everything turned to shit, we lost the people in the crew quarter. The cameras might be deactivated but not the sound. Screams and people trying to flee or fight could be heard in safe room number two then silence. Until we heard the sound of someone walking with metallic boots on the com.

My Com officer abandoned his post and armed himself. I don’t begrudge him his action, there is no rule against fraternization in a mercenary outfit. It’s even encouraged. This officer has a sweetheart he got engaged with; I think she is one of the cook’s assistant. He will die too, but I felt numb to it. Some others abandoned their chair and did the same.

Fenicia

I really kicked the hornet nest.

After killing my way in each of their hidey holes, those people have become even more aggressive. They should be, I don’t plan to leave anyone alive. Should I feel bad for doing what is necessary? Leaving no quarter, no room for negotiations?

Nah.

I don’t traffic with people trying to sneak on me and kill me. This is what was awaiting us, Idunn and me.

I am in stealth mode and hide because the opposition suddenly got smarter, they are creating choke points to each of the dens with the crew. They used furniture, boxes, anything to create barricades and covers, have they lost control of the doors and seal of the ship’s corridor. That security domination augment is really handy. Permitting me to find them wherever they are on the ship.

Accessing the HUD in my helmet, I look at the plan of the ship’s interior. Divided into five decks, the War Song is a light warship, we have the Command Deck nestled between the crew quarter and engineering. The command deck of the War Song is comprised of the ship’s bridge, Combat Information Center (CIC), the Lab, Armory, briefing/Communications Room and Main Airlock. My eyes followed the plan; I am in the crew quarters and already culled three of the safe rooms where the crew holed themselves.

Looking at the barricades with my LiDAR mods, I tracked the super soldiers. The icons showed me where they were, sometimes I could even see their forms behind the obstacles. Nice gadget!

My goal was to take out engineering and dispose of the crew responsible there to secure the Ion drive core, the fusion reactors and main systems of the ship that the override code that Idunn unearthed when she hacked the AI of this ship can’t take out. But those soldiers are in the way.

Life support is a perfect example. If I could, I would have vented the atmosphere of the ship and in the space station docking bay. I regret that their elimination couldn’t be any faster. While camouflaged with the stealth augment, I advanced; noise suppressors making my presence unknown. Taking ones of the electro-grenade, calculate the better angle to throw it above the barricade and in the middle of the soldiers. I throw the deadly projectile and wait.

There was no bang or boom, it was a grenade made to incapacitate them. The problem with the armors of nowadays is that they are resistant to explosive and concussive payloads and those are only useful against citizens in urban or forest terrains. The grenade delivers an electric surge that fries the armors system and knocks out your targets. And I fucking want that ship intact for my use.