Galloway had his head pressed against the back of the seat, seemingly relaxed, but inwardly worried about his people.
He glanced around without moving his head. The new suit helmets made sure his people couldn’t see his eyes scan over them. Most were busy double-checking their weapons and kit as the shuttle made its way over to the disabled Shican dreadnought.
With the weapons and gear, he had faith that the strike teams would succeed, but he knew some would have their attention split by the rumor that spread like wildfire through the fleet.
Alex had returned! As hard as that was to believe, Galloway didn’t doubt the rumor.
He saw a few people talking quietly amongst themselves and looking concerned. He put a stop to that. “Focus on the mission,” he said loud enough for everyone in the back of the shuttle to hear.
The group of three stiffened at his words but nodded and turned back to checking their gear.
Galloway did the same. He would not be taking a direct role in the clearing operations. As much as it pained him, he was now in command of the strike teams. As soon as his people established a beachhead, he would be there to oversee the operations from the back, along with Astrid Vargsdottir, who was on another shuttle.
Galloway chuckled silently at that, knowing that Astrid would hate her new role even more than he did.
The shuttle shook as the docking attachment fired off the bottom and onto the Shican vessel. As soon as it detached, the shuttle moved away as the device used a laser to carve a ring through the enemy hull.
There had been no way to test the devices beforehand, and Galloway wasn’t all that surprised when he heard over the command channel that the first attempt had been blown off the hull by the Shican armor’s anti-laser defenses.
The shuttle circled around, and a second device was launched into the cleared section of the hull. This time, nothing was preventing the lasers from cutting a circular hole out.
The outer seal blocked any visual confirmation, but sensors inside the breach airlock alerted him and the pilot that the path was now clear.
“Ready up!” Galloway barked over the comm a moment before the shuttle shook as the airlock sealed against the Shican ship.
Other shuttles would be doing the same across the Shican vessel, ensuring the enemy had to split their focus, but Galloway knew the first people across the airlock were going to be in the thick of fighting.
They needed to take some Shican alive for information, or they would have blown the vessel apart with Judgement’s main cannon and been done with it.
A man holding a round shield made from the same material as the armor of their suits stepped up in front of the airlock. The shield only left a few scant inches on either side uncovered, and if it wasn’t for the augmented nature of the suits, the man probably wouldn’t have been able to lift it, despite his larger-than-average Asgardian physiology.
Galloway quickly checked his suit sensors, and sure enough, over a dozen Shican were situated on the other side of the opening, waiting to fire at the first thing that stepped through.
The shield probably wasn’t necessary, given how durable the armor was, but why take a chance?
The rest of the strike team formed up behind the shield wielder, and Galloway sent the go signal to his team.
The airlocks all opened in a flash, and the shield man rushed through, more falling into the enemy vessel than running, as the hole had been cut through the ceiling.
They had prepared for the possibility, and the Shican were caught completely off guard as the man rolled and smashed the massive round shield against one of them.
These were not heavily augmented Shican. With the large shield, the added strength of the armor, and the Shican’s small statures, three were sent smashing into the wall as the rest of his strike team poured through the hole into a chaotic melee of weapons fire and close combat.
It was over in moments as his people rushed out to secure the corridor.
Galloway dropped through the hatch, landing on his feet in a slight crouch. He glanced up at the ceiling. It had to be fifteen feet up. He wondered why the Shican bothered making their corridors so tall, considering they were shorter than humans.
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He activated his radio, connecting to the crew of the shuttle. “When you get a moment, send down an extraction ladder.”
The co-pilot confirmed the order, and a few moments later, a metal ladder unrolled from the hole and hit the floor. Galloway adjusted the bottom of the ladder before flicking a switch on the side. It went from a flexible mesh of metal to a solid object in a moment.
Emergency ladders weren’t anything new, but he was glad to have the simple device; otherwise, climbing back to the airlock would have been a hassle. Probably not as much as he feared, given their suit’s capabilities and the ship’s sputtering power that kept their gravity plating active, but it was good to have alternatives.
One of his strike team jogged up, then saluted. “This section is secure, sir.”
It could have been sent over the radio, but they were limiting their radio comms to prevent the Shican from intercepting them.
Galloway nodded and radioed his team. “Go for phase two.”
The man saluted once more before hurrying off.
There was a clamor from the shuttle, and Galloway looked up just in time to see two Dog-sized robots pick their way through and into the enemy ship. It was a tight squeeze, and their entrance was slow, which was why they hadn’t been deployed first.
Galloway moved off to the side in case they lost their grip on the alien ceiling. He didn’t need to worry; Alexander’s multipurpose bots crawled into the enemy ship without issue and made their way to the floor.
They went in opposite directions and began demolishing nearby walls to create fortifications around their breach.
Galloway kept one eye on them while keeping track of what his suit sensors were telling him. He lifted his FE rifle once as he tracked a target on the floor below, but the target rushed down another hallway.
“Fortifications established,” Astrid said smugly over their command channel, only a few seconds before his were complete.
He sighed. She was already smug enough about kicking his ass back in that bar fight; now she was going to be insufferable on their next date. It was the nature of the beast when you enjoyed strong women.
***
Travers was glad he had turned down a command position when he joined BSE. He liked leading a team, but that’s as far as he cared to go. Being Yulia’s primary bodyguard and working for Damien was a nice change. She was secure back on Eden’s End, with the healed Dorry there to guard her, and Damien didn’t need an extra security person at the moment.
He needed to do more, so he signed up with the strike teams. It reminded him of his time back with the Hawks, only now there were real stakes, instead of just helping some rich prick throw his weight around. Kane had been the exception to that rule, which is why he had moved to Eden’s End and not renewed his contract with the Hawks.
Travers had nothing but love for the time he spent with the mercenary company, but he never regretted his decision to leave either. Even now, when he was at the head of the spear, clearing an alien ship, he believed he made the right choice.
His FE rifle fired off a single round, punching through the wall and cutting down two Shican who had been waiting in ambush. The fighting was getting more intense as they moved deeper into the vessel. They were starting to run into more cybernetically enhanced Shican, but they had yet to encounter a single armored one or one of the dreaded full cyborgs, as they had encountered after the hypergate attack.
He was sure they were around, and he was keeping his eyes open, even with the advanced sensors of the suit he wore.
***
Hessari slapped the side of his knee hard as the artificial joint locked up for a moment. He grunted and flexed the limb, ensuring the outdated cybernetic joint was loose. Had he been part of a more esteemed clan, he might have had the pull needed to replace it with something newer. Assuming the empire even allowed someone as old as him onto the list.
Being a warrior of some renown brought Hessari some standing, but most of that was wiped away by his family line and the fact that he hadn’t been part of any significant hunts in decades.
Hitching himself to the trueborn Murral was his last chance at solidifying his place in Shican society and contributing to its future with his genetic line.
All of that was quickly falling apart.
First, the ghost ship appeared and took out their sensor ship. Then it crippled their command ship. Hessari had acted as quickly as he could to get them out of the situation, and they had almost made it before the humans appeared.
Hessari was furious about falling for the trap, but at least a battle to the death would have been preferable to what was happening now.
“Any contact with the technologues?” Hessari asked as he stepped out of the armory.
He was wearing his beat-up armor with a projectile rifle slung over his back. His claw hung at the left side of his waist while an energy pistol sat on the right.
The bridge officer that he spoke to sneered slightly at the sight of the rifle before responding. Hessari ignored the man’s derision. He preferred practicality to honor.
“No,” the man replied snidely.
Hessari nodded, then, as quick as lightning, his augmented arm flashed down, drew his claw, and ripped it across the officer’s throat.
The man collapsed to the ground, choking on his own blood.
Hessari flicked the blood off his blade and slid it back into its sheath. “Anyone else have a problem with how I fight?”
The rest of the bridge crew went silent, and Commander Murral looked like he was going to be sick by the display of violence.
Hessari ignored them and turned to the four other armored individuals on the bridge. Other than him, they were the only fully cybernetic soldiers aboard. They would have to be enough.
As he thought that, the ship shook. It was as he feared when the humans didn’t destroy them outright. Their prey was boarding them.
Hessari could not think of a more shameful thing that could happen to a vessel. Even if he managed to repel the humans, his chances of securing his legacy were over. All he could hope for now was to take some of the humans down with him.
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