Masoul (Harmony War Series Book 2) (23 page)

              Guns and fear enforced their strength. Mark and the Troopers were born in a different furnace and honed by professional killers.

              Panic and fear might fuel both sides, but the troopers knew their old friend and channeled into it with deadly effect. Melee weapons of all kinds were used, the decks were turning red with blood.

              Mark saw Tyler and Dooks moving to support his line, he glanced to his HUD as he pulled out of a rebel’s blade. It showing the incoming reinforcements now flowing over the barricade and reinforcing the troopers.

              New energy and hope filled him as he kicked his attacker in the junk, punched him in the helmet and stabbed where their neck met their shoulder.

              They continued their path to the ground, life leaving them in spurts of blood, adding to the stains on Mark’s armor.

              ***

              Nerva watched the fight with cold detachment, the bridge would hold.

              His eyes fell on Mark, Tyler and Jerome. They were covered in blood, years of fighting and training had honed their reactions.

              He was proud of them.

              “Rebels at reactor four,” RSM Dalton said.

              “Move reinforcements to them. How are we looking on the flight deck?” Nerva said, switching his feeds from the bloody corridor outside the bridge.

              “The Combat Shuttles are stopping them from getting close. Most of them are low on ammo and fuel. Major Jeon was hit, he’s red. Major Ciao has taken over. They’re working on clearing instead of just holding. The deck’s pretty fucked up.” Dalton was not happy.

              “What is the space battle looking like Lieutenant Gula?” Nerva asked the navy officer that was the liaison between the carriers and Nerva.

              “Most of the Harmony ships are racing for Masoul actual. There aren’t any more ships coming from the planet. One freighter destroyed, second drifting, engines aren’t firing and power seems to have gone out,” Gula reported.

              “What about the Combat Shuttles, are they engaged with Harmony forces between us, the freighters, or planet?” Nerva asked.

              “No, they’re chasing the Harmony ships heading for Masoul,” Gula said.

              “Get them back here and helping to get rid of the last ships fighting here. I don’t want them out there low on ammo and fuel,” Nerva said.

              “I’ll pass on the recommendation,” Gula said. He would have refused passing on what sounded like an order to flight control earlier. After seeing the power Nerva wielded and the way the troopers jumped to do his bidding. Gula didn’t have nearly as many reservations.

              “Dalton have the remaining units move to the clearing patrols, commit all our forces, let’s take back our ship,” Nerva said.

              “Yes sir,” Dalton agreed, his gravelly voice making it low and hard.

              ***

              Alexis moved through the fighting. Troopers and Harmony rebels were fighting off in groups all over the place.

              Her section moved over the first barriers.

              “Form a line, reload rifles!” The order came, Alexis’ HUD showed her rifles magazine was full.

              Orders were passed and troopers disengaged from their fights.

              “Fire!” Alexis and her section, shoulder to shoulder fired into the rebels just a foot away.

              The rebels were simply cut down, helmets, torsos, chests and limbs were pulped as E-12’s and repulsors swept their ranks.

              It was a slaughter, the section moving forward by inches, shooting right into the rebels.

              Here and there a trooper went down, they were whisked off as another trooper took their position and fired.

              “First rank, kneel, reload!” Someone yelled, the row behind Alexis let loose a hail of tracer fire and moved past.

              Lines of troopers moved past her.

              She reloaded and looked for a familiar set of armor.

              She found it slumped against another trooper, both of them covered in blood with puffy sealant over wounds.

              She ran over fear clawing at her as the helmet moved.

             
Please be alive!
She thought, fighting tears.

              His hand raised weakly, she fell to her knees embracing him, blood transferred from his armor to hers.

              “Hey babe,” Tyler’s said, his voice was weak, like he was fighting not to pass out.

              She didn’t have words for her relief, wishing they were free of their armor so she could hold and kiss him. Tears flowed over her face as she checked his wounds.

              She looked up to the heavy thumping. Mark walked out of the supply room that the platoon had been using as a casualty area, medics were working on various people, blues were appearing as people were put into portable cryo-units.

              Alexis forgot what she was doing as she saw Mark, his armor was covered in blood and gore. He reloaded his rifle, looking for targets.

              “Alexis,” He said, lowering his rifle.aid in.

              “Thought you might need a hand,” She said.

              “Thanks,” He said, relaxing.

              “You okay Mark?” Jerome asked.

              “Yeah, bit messy is all,” Mark said relaxing slightly, apparently he was feeling the area was safe enough.

              Bodies were piled all around, troopers and Harmony fighters intermingled, draped over barricades and slumped on decking.

              Jerome grunted in response. They’d been fighting for three hours, but without any confirmation that they’d survive. Alexis knew that fighting like that could drain a person.

              “Wen?” Tyler asked, shifting against her legs, revealing more sealant which she checked with a glance.

              “No,” Mark answered.

               Alexis could see the effect of the word on Tyler and Jerome, their forms dipped visibly in understanding and sadness. She didn’t need to see their faces to understand their emotions.

              ***

              “Shit,” Young said, looking out of the main windows at
Reclaimer
’s armored doors.

              Only a few were open, the others were a mess of impacts where ships had crunched into the doors, or made it through.

              Rounds had punched through and missiles had left gashes in their surfaces. Entire sections had been opened to space.

              Yu took their shuttle through the hangar doors, they had a few hundred rounds left for their auto-cannons, their systems were a mix of yellow and reds.

              If anything the actual flight deck was worse than the armored doors.

              Combat Shuttles that had never left the deck were broken hulks. The fighting had been fierce, walls were marred with bullet holes. Spent shell casings and bodies showed where the troopers and Harmony forces had fought.

              Troopers moved their wounded into the heart of the carrier while flight crews moved broken Combat Shuttles out of the way and set to guiding arriving shuttles in.

              Yu followed his flight plan coming to settle down on the deck.

              “Cutting engines and power, opening maintenance hatches,” Yu said.

              Young worked her screen as various parts of the shuttles armor opened for the flight crew that were already moving to work on the Combat Shuttle.

              “Powered down and hatches unlocked,” Yu said, seeing that a few hatches hadn’t opened up.

              “Clear,” Young said.

              Yu sat in his chair, looking at the Harmony ships that were sprawled across the deck, bodies spread from their doors to various cover.

              Holes stitched the walls, the flight deck was littered with impact craters where grenades had gone off.

              One of the Harmony shuttles had been hit in it’s cockpit, from the gouges in the deck it looked like it had tumbled a few times before slamming into a Combat Shuttle and bursting into flames. It’s yellow and grey paint was blackened with the bodies around it, they were barely recognizable as human.

              The flight deck’s crew had heavy machinery out which pushing Harmony bodies and craft out of the open armored doors.

              “Let’s get a beer,” Bobbie said, he had been standing at the hatch for some time, staring at the sheer destruction.

              “Yeah,” Young said, pulling her harness off.

              Yu followed suit, feeling damn tired.

              They trudged out of the cockpit. Yu saw the jagged hole that had pierced their cargo hold, there were a few more holes, but none as big.

              Bobbie pressed the button for the ramp to open.

              It dropped about half an inch before locking out.

              Bobbie made a frustrated noise, opening the hydraulic panel. Rounds had pierced the system sending hydraulic fluid everywhere and destroying the command circuits.

              “Well going to have to do this the old fashioned way.” Bobbie moved to the other hydraulic panel and he pulled and twisted something before grabbing the handles on the roof and kicked the ramp with all his strength.

              The door tilted slightly and then released fully, clanging on the ground as hydraulic fluid squirted out of the second hydraulic panel.

              The flight crew gave them dirty looks but Yu, Young and Bobbie were too tired to care.

              They turned to look at their steed.

              “Well fuck, looks like a goddamn mess,” Bobbie said as they walked around the craft, scorch Dents, shrapnel, bullet holes and dents covered the craft.

              The wings had holes big enough for Bobbie’s fist to fit through and more bullet wounds on it’s armored panels, too many to count.

              One of the flight crew was on the wings hitting a hatch with a wrench, the hatch was welded shut with the heat of a missile that was a bit too close.

              Yu tapped the shuttle’s side with a fist, the old girl had brought them home and put up one hell of a fight.

              Young and Bobbie did the same, taking in the sight for a few more seconds before heading towards the lifts. Troopers were throwing their help in with the flight deck, a few nodding to Yu and his crew as they passed.

              They returned the gestures, two groups acknowledging the other’s efforts and capabilities.

              It was one of the few times when they weren’t Troopers and Combat Shuttle Crew, they were all part of the EMF and
Reclaimer
was their home.

             
Harmony better watch the fuck out, we’re not going to take this lying down,
Yu thought, names and faces passing through his mind’s eye, people that had gone on their last flight.

              “I need a fucking drink,” Yu said.

              “A-fucking-men,” Bobbie said, as they stepped in a lift, heading for the nearest mess.

              ***

              Alexis grabbed medical supplies from a secondary med-bay, returning to Tyler’s quarters.

              Armor made a trail into the showers, the flaky blood catching the water of the showers and coloring the water red.

              People started coming out of the shower, Alexis scanned them, spraying open wounds and giving them injections to counteract cryo-sickness and the stim cocktail keeping them standing.

              Tyler was among the last, there were cuts on his arms, sides and legs. Others helped out, allowing her to focus on Tyler as they helped the rest of their section get sealed up.

              Few were talking, drained from the fighting and the cryo-sickness. The remedy would make them pass out for a few hours.

              Tyler groaned and hissed with the closing wounds but he took the pain.

              “Good?” He asked.

              “Yeah,” she said looking over his body to make sure she hadn’t missed any wounds.

              “Well let’s go check on the others,” Tyler said, walking to his locker and pulling on new smart clothes.

              His movements were slow so he didn’t re-open his wounds.

              They gathered medical supplies the section was sprawled over their racks, a few snoring already.

              Tyler helped Alexis as they worked on two sections wounds.

              Jerome followed them wordlessly, three section were already in their beds.

              Jerome and Tyler got them up to make sure their wounds were good, most had bled on their beds a bit.

              Mark was slumped on his bed in full armor still, red flakes of blood were all over his rack and floor.

              Alexis pinched his armpit, he winced and moved.

              “Get in the shower Mark,” she cooed, pinching him again.

              He groaned and rolled over.

              Jerome gave him a swift kick in his butt armor.

              Mark groaned louder.

              “Get up diablo, work to be done!” Tyler said.

              Mark rolled out of bed and onto his feet. He was blinking and looking around.

              “Nickname still works I see, go take a shower in your armor then get out here so we can seal you up,” Tyler said.

              Mark grunted but stumbled off towards the showers.

              Jerome went with him.

              Alexis turned to sealing up the rest of the section. There were audible groans of pleasure as she injected the cryo-sickness aide.

              Mark came back wearing just his boxers.

              Alexis felt her breath come in a hiss.

              Mark’s body was covered in scars, from the one in his stomach and lower back, to blade cuts, bullet holes, burns and shrapnel.

              Tyler and Mark were a half-foot in size difference and two of the tallest people on
Reclaimer
. Unlike many tall people they had filled out, Tyler was a leaner build, but Mark was devoted to power. Corded muscles moved under the open wounds, burns ran up his side, there were clean patches of skin where his armor had stopped the heat from melting his skin.No less than two dozen wounds were open on his body.

              Tyler, Jerome and Alexis went to work sealing them up.

              “I wish you idiots used a different fighting style,” she growled.

              “Take a small wound to land a killing blow, with our armor it’s less often that we have so many wounds, but then we’re fighting panicked people. Scared people can be worse than a trained killer. Their unpredictable and fueled with every fight and flight system their body has,” Tyler said, stepping back and admiring their handiwork.

              “Can I go to sleep now?” Mark asked, his eyes screwed shut in pain.

              “Yeah and we’ve got something for the headache, put some pants on,” Jerome said.

              Mark grabbed pants and pulled them on lazily.

              Alexis got two needles from her pack.

              Mark slumped on his rack, the whole thing shaking.

              Alexis stuck the needles into the port still in his neck.

              “He looks like shit,” Alexis said.

              “Yeah, killed over twenty people,” Jerome said, worry in his voice before leading the way out of the sections room.

              Jerome disappeared off into his sections sleeping quarters while Tyler pulled Alexis into his and they curled up on his bed.

              They kissed one another, just hours ago they were under the threat of dying. Each was lost in their own thoughts of what ifs and maybes.