Black Legion: 05 - Sea of Fire (13 page)

“They are running. Should we continue the pursuit?”

Xenophon nodded.

“Yes, but only so far as the first marker.”

He pointed to the arbitrary point they had already chosen that surrounded the Terran fleet. It was a simple measure whereby the ships could still be provided with adequate supporting gunfire. After that, they were on their own and vulnerable to being picked off.

“Topoteretes, look,” said the Kentarchos.

Xenophon looked and at first he couldn’t quite make out the shapes. However, as they moved closer, he could see almost twenty remaining heavy fighters heading directly for Antaeus.

“What am I looking for?”

The plasma cannons sent a cloud of energized matter at the approaching fighters, but the shots were easily avoided. Only the heavy laser cutters proved impossible to avoid, but their rate of fire was much lower, and there were fewer in the fleet. A pair of fighters exploded and cleared a direct path toward the middle of the formation.

 
“What the hell is that?”

Right in the center of the formation was a ship design he’d never seen before. Around it were another four smaller craft. They each projected a powerful, layered shield around the larger vessel.

“All power to shields!” Kentarchos Cadmus snapped.

Xenophon tapped his earpiece.

“I need fighter cover around Antaeus. They are attempting to overwhelm us.”

Roxana was already on it and moving three unengaged torpedo boats. Beams of energy from the light cruisers ripped into the formation, and colorful flashes from the spheres marked where the shield beat off the attack.

“No, not like this,” said Kentarchos Cadmus.

He called over to his helmsman.

“Bring us around and give them a broadside.”

He then looked to his tactical officer.

“Whatever we have left get it on the port side. I need every ounce of shielding you can find. Take it from the engines, life support. I don’t care. Just keep my ship alive!”

The hull seemed to groan at the immense effort of moving at such speed to present her flank. A triple impact struck near one of the engine mounts and sent a rumble through the ship. At the same time came dozens of vibrations as the close range guns opened up against the attackers. Xenophon left the management of the ship in the capable hands of Kentarchos Cadmus and concentrated on the new arrival.

They are not Carduchian ships.

As the battle raged, he tapped one of the computer units and brought up a magnified model of the approaching ship. Just at the periphery of the view were the other four supporting ships. None of them fired weapons, and as far as he could tell, they seemed to have just one purpose.

To protect the primary vessel.

He called out to Roxana.

“Bring in two squadrons and hit these support ships.”

He selected the four positioned around the central vessel. As shots came in, the energy field quickly shifted to where most of the fire was coming in.

“I...I just can’t get the things to go down,” said Roxana.

She shook her head in frustration.

“No matter where we hit them, they redirect the shield levels at the last second. It must be computer controlled. No living crew can maintain power levels that fast.”

Another round struck the cruiser so hard that even the Kentarchos winced.

“I don’t like this. Give me everything we have left, now!”

His voice was a roar and seemed to goad his crew into action more quickly than even the heavy enemy fire was capable of. The warning indicators of overloaded guns and failing shields must have also contributed to their increased haste. Xenophon looked at the imagery of the approaching ships and concentrated on the largest.

What have we here?

The craft was at least three times the size of the heavy fighters and somewhere around half the size of a torpedo boat. The outer hull was colorless, nothing but bare metal exposed to the elements. It was in direct contrast to that of the other Carduchian vessels that displayed a barrage of colors and designs with every single one. What was really surprising to Xenophon wasn’t so much the shape, but that it was hollow. Its central fuselage was ribbed like many military ships, yet he could see right through it, and that was what shocked him. He paused the image and expanded it further.

“No, it can’t be.”

He was so busy looking at the hollow sections that it took a moment for him to realize what he was actually seeing.

“Are those robots?”

Roxana took her eyes away from what she was doing for a brief moment. She pointed to the stark black marking on the side of the hull and immediately knew what she was looking at.

“Those are not Carduchian markings, Xenophon.”

He looked at her and shook his head.

“Yes, I’m quite well aware of that. Perhaps you could enlighten us with your wisdom.”

Roxana ignored his barb and merely pointed to the designs on the hulls.

“Those are insignia of the independent Robotic Domains. It’s a robot warship.”

She went back to her own work and left Xenophon speechless. He’d fought against robotic drones before, but never had he expected to see a ship from that fabled part of space. There were sculptures back in Attica of famous battles, such as those of Marathon, where the Terrans had smashed a Median invasion force. One in particular popped into his head, an image of Taochian warriors and a single robot engaged in battle against Attican spatharii.

I can’t believe it.

“Kentarchos, they’ve broken through!” yelled the tactical officer.

It was too little, too late, though. The first six fighters came in close, their guns firing long bursts before the first of them ignited its primary engines and rushed in toward the port flank of the light cruiser.

“No!” yelled the Kentarchos.

Every single gun on the ship opened fire at point-blank range. Two more fighters exploded and sent the broken remains against the hull of the cruiser.

The impact was massive and threw anybody standing to the floor. Xenophon smashed into the nearest wall and would have been knocked unconscious if he’d not been wearing his spatharios uniform. Steam vented from collapsed pipes, and multiple units tore apart from the internal trauma.

“Shields gone, there are more coming in behind them!” shouted the tactical officer.

Xenophon lifted himself up on one leg, and Roxana came from nowhere to help him up. Another series of shocks rocked the vessel but none as bad as the previous attack. He moved to the Kentarchos and looked at the lines of information moving about the VOB system. Kentarchos Cadmus spotted him alongside Roxana.

“They’ve disabled our engines, and the larger ship has attached itself to our outer hull.”

He shook his head in astonishment.

“I think they mean to board us.”

Not even Xenophon could hide his surprise. The Carduchians were many things, but frontline warriors were not one of them. The very idea of an enemy attempting to move in and attack a Terran ship was something of an anathema to all of them.

“These are no savages,” said Xenophon.

He lifted his right arm and activated the blade. It punched out with speed and glistened in the flashing lights of the command deck.

“I will lead them into the primary connecting corridor, level three. It will be easiest way to get extra troops in if we need them. The lack of space will negate their numbers, I hope.”

The Kentarchos nodded in agreement.

“Yes, that is the most direct route through the ship. There are junctions and blast doors at every stage. You are not planning on meeting them in the hangar?”

Xenophon grinned.

“Kentarchos. Have you ever fought one of these machines before? Because I know I haven’t. If they are anything like the legends, they are big, fast, and strong. The last thing we need is to give them space to fight in.”

He licked his lips in anticipation.

“I intend on facing them down the old Laconian way.”

Kentarchos Cadmus grinned at this.

“Ah, the old cave plan. Is it not?”

Roxana heard this part and looked less than amused.

“Xenophon, this is no bear hunting party. If you draw them into a tunnel, you have to be prepared to fight them to the death. There will be no escape.”

Kentarchos Cadmus looked in agreement with her also.

“You are both correct. If they make it past you, they can break out through the entire ship. Tell me when you are there, and I will seal the sections behind you. This will not be an easy fight.”

Images of ancient Terrans armed with long spears flooded into Xenophon’s mind. It was a common tale on almost every Terran world, but the Laconians prided themselves on their skill at tackling the most ferocious beasts. They would chase a bear into its cave and hunt it down, knowing the creature had no way to escape. The same was also true for the warrior, and a cornered beast was always more dangerous than one in the open. He began to doubt himself, and his breathing increased quickly.

“Good luck, my friend. I will do what I can to keep us in the fight.”

He moved closer to Xenophon and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. He was less heavily armored than Xenophon, but he still wore his breastplate and greaves. His hands were open and unprotected.

“I have just thirty spatharii on board and a dozen stratiotes. They are all experienced and trained in maritime operations. Use them wisely, Topoteretes. I have no more.”

Xenophon felt his mouth go dry at the words. He had only just led the remnants of the fleet in what appeared to be a successful battle, and now he would have to lead a mixed force of Terrans in a pitched land battle, out in the middle of the Carduchian Wilderness. If they lost the ship, then both he and Roxana would be dead, and with it the chance for the rest of the fleet to make it home.

Artemas, Glaucon, and Tamara. They will never see their homes again if the fleet follows Chirisophus for the rest of the journey.

It was the first time he’d ever really looked at it that way, and it pained him to realize that he had no faith in the Laconian keeping them alive. The Strategos was obviously a mighty warrior, perhaps the greatest in the entire fleet. But time and time again he had proven he lacked judgment or even the finer points of strategy.

He is not the man to lead us home. I have to do that.

The simple realization that his own life had a greater value than just to him was something of a revelation. He could see the Kentarchos was watching him but clearly had no idea of the mental anguish the man was going though.

“Understood, Kentarchos. I will not fail you or the fleet. I promise I will get the Legion out of the Median Empire. We will not die in this wilderness.”

Xenophon moved away from him and ignored the look on the man’s face. He had neither asked about the fleet or his long-term plan. He and his officers watched the Topoteretes leave and then turned back to their computer systems.

“Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen. We have a battle to win, and a ship that’s dead in the water with no shield and only six guns left firing isn’t going to do it now, is it?”

His voice was firm but incredibly calm. Xenophon listened to his words as he went to the side of the command deck. His boots made a gentle clunk sound as he passed the banks of computers and the state of the art VOB system. As he left the room, he looked down and checked the Laconian shield unit on his left arm was functioning. It was connected directly to the bulky power unit attached to his back. Two more spatharii fell in behind him, as well as Roxana who had left her previous position.

“No, I need you here.”

Roxana continued to walk alongside him.

“No chance, you are going to need every warrior you can get your hands on.”

He considered pressing the issue but then decided against it.

How can she command the fleet if we’ve lost the ship?

“Very well, all of you, with me.”

* * *

The primary connecting corridor was a mundane name for one of the least interesting parts of the ship. Wide enough for four men to march side by side, it was still narrow, with piping running down one side. Access hatches were placed at ten-meter intervals, and there were three intersections that led off into other parts of the ship. Xenophon had reached the last one and stopped to check his position. This part of the ship opened out with a ramp on one side leading up to a secondary shaft. A wide access door faced them down a shorter passageway to the left and led out into the port hangar.

“If they want to take this ship, they will have to come through here first,” he said.

A young Arcadian moved to his flank. He wore the traditional panoply of the spatharii, with heavy armor and a Doru rifle in his arms. His helmet was scratched so badly it was hard to find even a single section that was undamaged.

“Are we waiting here?”

Xenophon looked to him and nodded.

“You will form a phalanx twenty meters from the doors, back there in the main passageway.”