Black Legion: 05 - Sea of Fire (23 page)

"No chance of continuing that way. The shaft has collapsed.”

“Uh, what’s that?” said the Laconian.

Both of them looked far below and through the crevice created by part of the tunnel dropping away. The floor was fragile and each moved carefully, desperate to avoid any more of it falling away, or even worse, to draw the attention of any remaining sleeper soldiers. Below them was the vastness of the Carduchian hangar space. Cranes and heavy machinery ran along girders, and a rail system covered one full side of the space. Open carts lay empty where they were clearly designed for the rapid loading and unloading of goods. Glaucon looked confused.

“The whole area is a space designed for a massive mercantile operation. What about it?”

“No, that,” said the Laconian.

It was hard to see, but finally Tamara spotted the shapes. At first they appeared as nothing more than dark shadows, but then they moved out from something to the right. Although the view was heavily obstructed, the shapes were clearly soldiers of some kind.

“Who are they?” Tamara asked.

The Laconian watched carefully and then whispered. His voice betrayed his disdain.

“They are Median mercenaries. I see a few Carduchians, and at least one Taochi warrior.”

As he spoke, a few more appeared from the side of the open space. Two carried between them some kind of weapon fitted to a tripod. Another wore a tall helm and shouted to them, though from this distance it was impossible to make out what they were saying. Glaucon seemed almost happy with what he’d seen.

“Why?” Tamara asked, shaking her head.

Glaucon grinned.

“You know what this means, don’t you?”

Tamara shook her head again, but the Laconian clearly had an idea.

“They must have a ship, otherwise how the hell did they get here?”

Tamara didn’t seem convinced.

“What if they’ve been here all this time?”

She spotted something and then nodded off to the left, well away from the mercenaries. Figures were moving out but this time just a trio of people.

“The Komes,” hissed the Laconian under his breath.

They watched in silence as the tiny group of Laconians went inside the vast hangar area. They were moving carefully, presumably looking for signs of traps or even more hidden enemy forces. Off to the right the mercenaries must have spotted something because they quickly fanned out and out of sight. Glaucon looked to the others.

“We need to get down there, and fast.”

The Laconian nodded and beckoned toward the circular shaft that was now partially exposed to the elements. It wound down on a long trail until vanishing beneath them.

“We don’t know if that tunnel is even complete. What if it...”

Glaucon cut her off.

“It doesn’t matter. Our options are limited, and we have to do something.”

“I agree,” added the Laconian.

“Well, that’s it then,” said Tamara.

She walked up to the Terran solider and pushed at him as she went past.

“Let’s go.”

Tamara moved quickly, and in just a few seconds she’d already completed a full circuit of the shaft and was making her way down. The Laconians followed, with two still carrying the weakened figure of Lady Artemas.

“Is she always like that?”

Glaucon laughed at the Laconian.

“This is nothing. You wait until she’s angry.”

They followed the others, but Glaucon could see the soldier was most amused at what he was seeing with this odd, red-haired young woman.

“I’ll be interested to see that.”

Their words were cut off by the familiar sound of pulse weapons and the crackle of shields. Tamara looked back and across the wide chasm to the other side where she could see Glaucon. He pointed down into the pit.

“Keep going. They need our help.”

Down went the group, inching their way carefully past dirt and broken metal. The shaft was a narrow tunnel, but due to the damage there were entire segments now completely open to the rest of the deep pit. At one point Glaucon had slipped, but the Laconian managed to grab him before he was too close to the edge.

“Thanks, I can do without a long drop.”

The Laconian accepted his gratitude with a silent nod. They pushed on even as the sound of the battle below continued. There was no way to see what was happening as the shaft began to divert away from the pit and deep into the rock of the facility. Finally, after what seemed like an age, the shaft stopped at a wide, sealed doorway. The Laconians pushed, pulled, shoved, and kicked, but it refused to open.

“The panel?” Glaucon suggested.

The Terrans fiddled with the controls for almost a minute before Tamara moved up to it. They blocked her way, but she pushed in among them.

“Let me have a go.”

Lady Artemas watched all of this from her position leaning against the wall. Her face was paler than usual, and it was obvious to them all that she was bleeding internally. Glaucon would have preferred to take care of her first, but if they were trapped here, they would all be just as dead. One of the Laconians pushed her back, so she kicked him hard behind the knee. He dropped down, and a second lifted his weapon to strike her.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” said Lady Artemas, “You’re unable to open a sealed Carduchian security panel. Let her try. She’s opened worse.”

The Laconians looked to each other, but the strongest of the group, the one with the dented helm, seemed to take charge. He stepped aside to give Tamara space to move.

“Thanks,” she said sarcastically, “Maybe you could check your guns are ready or something else useful.”

Glaucon chuckled quietly to himself as she went to work on the computer system. After thirty seconds, one of the Terrans moved closer to interrupt her, but she spat back words with such anger and venom that he backed off.

“Easy now,” he said in abject horror.

“Yes, don’t interrupt the lady,” Artemas said with a forced smile.

The door opened with a whistling sound, and a great gush of cool air rushed into the shaft. Glaucon moved through the gap and indicated for the others to watch. In seconds they were inside the vast hangar complex and could see the three Laconians. The warriors were pinned down at the side of a collapsed staircase while shots struck down into their shields.

“Komes,” said the Laconian.

Their leader looked back, his face serious and showing little joy at their arrival. The clatter of gunfire from the tripod-mounted weapon off into the distance struck the shielding three times, and with each impact the level of protection dropped off. The Terrans began to move away to help their friends, but Glaucon pulled them back.

“No, we’re out of sight at the moment.”

The brasher of the group pulled away and snapped back.

“So, you want to wait while our brothers die?”

“No,” said Glaucon as he shook his head. He then pointed off along the side of the hangar and to where the abandoned light rail system sat, cold and lifeless.

“I want to save your kin. We can outflank them and hit them hard.”

Tamara moved away from them and to the side of the rail system. There was a short drop of half a meter that led down to the single rail track. Once into position, she crept along and then lifted herself up to glance over the top. It took just seconds before she signaled back by hand to the others.

“What is she saying?” Lady Artemas asked.

Glaucon continued to watch, nodded, and then looked to the rest.

“Okay. The mercs have a strong position out of our sight to our left. One of you stay with Artemas; the rest with me.”

Lady Artemas tried to move to follow them, but she quickly slumped back to the wall. Glaucon helped support her and made sure she was stable before releasing her.

“No, you stay there. If anything happens to you, I’ll have to deal with Xenophon. And you know how serious he can be.”

She looked at him and opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words, a thin trickle of blood dripped out. Glaucon looked down to her body and found two more tiny dark spots on her armor. He went to help her, but she waved him off.

“Help the others. If we don’t get out of here, I’ll be dead anyway.”

* * *

Light Cruiser ‘Antaeus’, Bijar Prime, Carduchian Wilderness

The lights came on first and then the VOB system. Xenophon felt his eyes strain at the sudden change in brightness around them. He wasn’t interested in the light, or even the shields. All he wanted was to speak with the fleet.

“I have to speak with Dukas Xenias!”

He walked along the command deck and stopped at each of the screens in turn. All of the crew was busy, but it was one of the engineers that finally managed to give him the good news.

“I’ve patched you through via the gunnery...”

Xenophon lifted his hand.

“No, don’t worry. Just let me speak with him.”

The man nodded toward his earpiece node.

“He’s on.”

Xenophon wasn’t so sure.

“Dukas, this is Xenophon, can you hear me?”

The audio was of poor quality while the equipment altered the buffering to make up for the large levels of decay and noise. The sound faded in and out, but after a few more seconds the familiar sound of Dukas Xenias appeared.

“Xenophon, you made it. I’m afraid even your ships will not be enough to see us through this one. We are low on fuel, and the Strategos has ordered a full-scale assault to start shortly.”

Xenophon shook his head in irritation.

“No, that won’t be necessary. I have a plan, one that will smashed the Carduchians, these mercenaries, and our friends across the border.”

“Friends?”

Xenophon allowed himself a momentary smile.

“Yes. Satrap Tirbazus is waiting just across the Sea of Fire, and he’s brought his entire host with him.”

The audio crackled, but the Dukas was clearly concerned. The first few words were broken, but the last part was clear enough.

“...Your plan, will it get the fleet out of here in one piece?”

Xenophon looked to Roxana who gave him the nod.

“It will work, but only if we can count on two things.”

“Which are?”

Xenophon stared at Roxana as he answered.

“The arrogance of Laconians, and the desperation of the Medes to finish us off.”

A sigh came back over the audio system.

“I can’t promise you much Xenophon, but those two things are a certainty.”

* * *

Bijar Prime, Carduchian Wilderness

Glaucon lifted his head up from behind the light rail system and watched the mercenaries fanning out. Even from this distance he could see they were calm, assured of themselves, and well equipped. No two were the same, and they were certainly confident of their position. They didn’t bother making use of cover, and instead spread out with just two staying in the middle to shelter behind the shielded weapon platform. The Taochian mercenary growled something, and half of them pushed on ahead. Glaucon dropped back down and looked to Tamara and the three Laconians.

“The big one is in charge. What do you think?”

The spatharios sporting the dented helm didn’t even bother looking over the top. The information and ranges given by Glaucon were more than enough.

“The two of you used to be in the Night Blades, right?”

Tamara seemed surprised at the mention of their old unit.

“Yeah, why?”

The Laconian smiled.

“They have a reputation, even among us. The Night Blades are supposed to be the masters of stealth and ranged combat. If so, then our tactics have been decided for us.”

He nodded in the direction of the enemy.

“We’ll perform a shielded assault, but only when you’ve taken care of the heavy. I want you two to work further down to the left and flank them. When you have a shot, take out the gunners, and we’ll do the rest.”

Glaucon looked at Tamara, and she nodded her agreement.

“What about the Komes over there?”

She pointed off to their right where the Laconians were busy defending themselves. It was clear that neither side was particularly keen on closing the distance. The Komes was heavily outnumbered, and they’d been pinned down.

“As soon as you have the gun, I’ll give the order. The Komes will join us, and together will see these mercenaries burn.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Bijar Prime, Carduchian Wilderness

The facility continued to groan under the immense strain of its weakened structure. The explosions had stopped, but that no longer mattered to those trapped inside. At the small skirmish deep inside the vast ship loading area, it became clear that there were others hiding. Shapes moved far off into the distance, and the sound of feet and shouting punctuated the squeals of anguish from the damaged structure. The entire site was dying, and those that had hidden inside now realized they lives were about to be cut short.