Animus Complete Series Omnibus, page 282
“Due in part to you and your comrades’ assistance.”
“Which reminds me, has Otto reported back yet?” the medic asked. “I can swing by the medbay to offer a few healing gels and serums I have, but I should save the rest to help my team and we should be off soon, now that the worst is over.”
“Right, of course.” The man checked his pad. “I haven’t received any messages since he left. I could call him if you would like me to.”
“Are you looking for me?” Otto asked and dropped from the ceiling, startling the captain. “Sorry. I had to get into the guts of the shield system and simply crawled here. The other techs and I made sure everything is back in working order and keyed the jamming signal in so the enemy’s tech can’t mess with the ship anymore. They are sending the instructions to other ships, but it appears most have been able to find their own workarounds.”
“That’s a relief.” The officer’s frown eased a little. “I was thanking your partner for his help, which applies to you also. Will you be off now?”
“We probably should be.” The technician glanced at his teammate. “We’re happy to help but we are here to assist with taking the station.”
“I wonder if we are even needed anymore,” Julius said thoughtfully. “We’ve seen Kaiden and the others in action, and backed up by the WCM’s best, it should make this a rather brief assault for this station, no?”
“Captain!” a helmsman called. “We have enemy destroyers and a dreadnaught approaching.”
The officer frowned again and returned to the front of the bridge with Julius and Otto in his wake. “Keep the front bulkheads closed and activate the holomap.”
“Aye,” the helmsman acknowledged, and a large map appeared in front of the captain’s chair. It displayed several destroyers en route toward the line around Icarus. “We can hold against the destroyers together, but that dreadnaught will be an issue,” the man muttered. “Are any of our dreadnaughts available to assist?”
“All are currently engaged. We have other destroyers, corsairs, and assaults coming up from behind, though. Still, I’m not sure we have enough firepower to destroy or disable it before it inflicts significant damage to the line and perhaps even the station.” The helmsman shrugged unhappily.
“If we are winning, they would probably rather destroy the station outright than relinquish it to us.” The captain stroked his beard as he considered the likely scenarios.
“We’d better hope they haven’t activated the self-destruct on the station,” Julius muttered.
“The stations don’t have a self-destruct function,” Otto explained. “They have a way to cut the power off in dire circumstances, but if we needed to scuttle the station, we would simply destroy it remotely. It’s a good thing it didn’t come to that since Icarus is one of two stations designed for battle.”
“You’re right,” the officer shouted and drove a fist into his upturned hand. “Icarus’ main cannons could make all the difference.” He strode decisively to the middle of the bridge. “Everyone make contact with the officers on the station. See if they have control yet and tell them we need those weapons asap.”
Julius looked at Otto, who had activated his comms. “I’ll contact our team to see how they are faring.” He shrugged as if the rest of his thought was obvious. “Maybe they are in a position to help.”
“Chief, I ain’t feeling so good.” Kaiden moaned, now on all fours and buried by a wave of nausea as if he were about to vomit.
“Hold tight, partner. I’m almost there. I have control of most interior defenses, not that there are many left. Also, I have control of life support and main systems and I’m working on auxiliary and weapons.”
“I might need life support after this,” the ace mumbled and eased himself back so he could lean on one of the consoles.
“Kaiden, I think I saw an Omega soldier heading inside to where you are,” Izzy warned.
He shook his head, picked Sire up, and held the trigger. “You had one job,” he muttered as the barrel began to glow.
“Uh…you are still on comms,” she replied.
“I’m well aware.” He fired as soon as he saw a hazy figure round the corner. A green haze appeared as the shot erupted but he heard the crack of the Omega’s armor and him making impact with the wall down the hall. “Hopefully, that solved the problem.” He pressed his hands against his helmet and dragged in a deep breath.
“Kaiden? Are you there?” a voice inquired.
“Who is it now?” Kaiden growled annoyance.
“It’s Otto. Are things all right?” the technician responded, concern in his tone. “You sound ill.”
“That about sums it up, yeah,” the ace replied. “As for if things are all right…technically, sure, we almost have control of the station.”
“That’s great and it’s what I’m calling about, actually,” his teammate stated. “Listen, we’re about to come under heavy attack. There are enough ships to hold off most of the assault, but the Omegas are bringing a dreadnaught in. We need it taken care of and could use the station’s weaponry about now.”
“Did you get that, Chief?” Kaiden asked and turned his head slightly.
“I did. It’s good timing,” Chief confirmed. “I’ve gained control of the station’s weapons, so I’ll focus on that while you get that gate working for Chiyo.”
“Easier said than done, bright light,” he grumbled and struggled to his feet.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I can deactivate the suite now. We’re good.” He felt immediate relief but also something akin to vertigo. Quickly, he stripped his helmet off and drew a deep breath.
“Thank God—all of them.” He pressed his fingers against his temple. “Okay, what do I need to do to get the gate working?”
“Go to the blinking console,” Chief instructed and the ace located a flashing panel. “Initiate the boot-up sequence. I’ve taken care of all the particulars. Then contact Chiyo so she can give you the coordinates and you can connect it to whatever she is using to move the bomb.”
A little of his strength returned and the ace hurried to the console, activated the screen, and initiated the program for the warp gate. He took another deep breath and replaced his helmet. “Chi, are you there?”
“Momentarily,” she responded. “Is the gate available?”
“I’m getting it ready. Chief says I need to link up to you and get the coordinates.”
“Good, I’ll open the link. I’ll put it under my name. If you grant me access to the systems, I can send it myself,” she instructed.
He opened a menu that contained dozens of channels but identified hers without difficulty. “Got it. I pressed the go button and it’s linking.”
“The go button?” she asked and he could hear a sigh. “I am grateful for your help but why isn’t Chief doing this?”
“He’s busy with something else,” he replied.
“I have the cannons ready,” Chief advised him. “You might want to make sure your feet are planted securely. These are big guns!”
“They are closing in and are almost within range, sir,” the helmsman announced.
The captain took his seat. “Then prepare to fire. Focus on the destroyers but don’t break the line,” he instructed, leaned forward, and clasped his hands tightly. “And hope they can get those cannons online before—”
“Cannons!” a crewman bellowed. “Icarus’ cannons are taking aim at the dreadnaught.”
He smiled. “Well then, belay the order not to move. You’d better make sure we aren’t in their way.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Luke—elevated by about fifteen feet—rocketed into a wall. He shook his head and opened his eyes, and as he peered through his cracked visor, he realized that one of the Goliath’s turrets aimed at him. A hasty scan of his HUD wasn’t encouraging. His armor’s shields were at twenty percent and certainly couldn’t deflect a shot at this point. While his gauntlet shield was at thirty-three percent and slowly charging so might be able to protect him, there was a strong chance that doing so could overload and break it. Possibly, he acknowledged morosely, it might even fry the gauntlet.
A red light flashed in the turret, which immediately prompted him to activate his bounce jets as he began to slide down. They launched him across the room and over the laser blast. He took hold of his hammer and pressed the button on the handle that activated the booster on the rear of the weapon seconds before he was about to collide with the giant mech. He roared as he pounded it into the side of the Goliath’s head to create a large crater and a crack that spread from the top part of the head to below the neck.
“We have an opening!” the military officer shouted and indicated the damage the titan had caused. “Demolitionists, focus on the weak point and fire!” he roared. Two ran up, one with a cannon and the other with a launcher. They aimed as Luke landed and fired as the enemy attempted to right itself and eliminate him with one of its cannons. The heavies fired together and the missile struck the target first, followed seconds later by the charged blast from the cannon. While they weren’t able to destroy the head, they caused additional damage that extended the crack down the mechanical and into its chest plate. The weapon aimed at Luke failed.
“It’s busted,” he shouted and twirled his hammer. “Bust it more.”
“Everyone fire as one,” the officer ordered and the group released a combined barrage that attempted to obliterate it. The Goliath tried to push them back with its turrets as it struggled to stabilize itself, but they were destroyed quickly by another missile from one of the demolitionists and a grenade thrown by a raider. Luke was joined by two other military titans. One held a hammer similar to his while the other held a large mace.
He studied the latter weapon with real curiosity. “How does that compare to a hammer?”
“Have you never given one a whirl?” the man asked and he shook his head. The military heavy pressed a switch and prongs emerged all around the spherical head and began to glow. “Have a look.” He charged the Goliath and activated his jets when he was a few yards away. They enabled him to leap onto the mech’s torso and he drove his mace into the giant robot. The chest burst open when a wave of energy was dispersed from the weapon on contact and surged from the weapon in a blue flash.
“Heh, pretty lights.” Luke chuckled, grasped his hammer, and nodded at the other titan. “But let us show him what the classics can do.” The man held his hammer aloft as they both raced forward once the mace-wielding titan had retreated. Both followed his movements and jumped at the Goliath while it was besieged by volleys from the rest of the group. They each pressed the triggers on their hammer, condensed the kinetic force stored inside their weapons, and struck the enemy together. The force of their attack shattered its midsection and it broke apart. The top half of the machine fell in pieces while the bottom toppled to the side. Luke and his attack partner landed and the military titan clapped him on the shoulder as the rest of the team roared in victory.
The military officer approached them. “Moments like these are why it’s always good to have a couple of titans at your side,” he remarked and gestured down the hall. “But we have to get back there. We’ve lost enough time and they will need our help to keep the Omegas—” He was cut off by a rumble that made the floor shudder. Luke stared in disbelief and concern as arcs of white energy destroyed the doors to the lab. Ark soldiers and Omegas retreated in fear.
“I know it’s only a few hundred yards down,” the titan muttered. “But are we gonna get there in time to help at all?”
“Don’t think,” the officer shouted and began to sprint toward the lab. “Just move—double-time!”
“I have the dreadnaught in my sights,” Chief yelled and Kaiden heard a loud whirring that seemed to echo around the station as the EI positioned the cannons. “You might wanna plug your ears. It’ll be loud!”
“I can’t right now. I’m still working with Chiyo,” he replied. “How are things on your end, Chi?”
“Energy is spiking in the bomb,” she explained. Sizzles, snaps, and pulses were audible over the comms. “It’s sending out errant waves of powerful energy. The droids nearby have all ceased to function and it’s melted the armor of a few Omegas who were hit.”
“Shit, be careful,” he responded.
“I’d rather be rid of it entirely,” she retorted and he snickered quietly. “Right. We’re linked up. I’ve already had Kaitō find a remote destination, but you’ll have to make sure the gate is not shut during transfer and to guide it through the—”
“Hold up. I thought I was done?” he protested. “What happens if I fuck the next part up?”
“There is a good chance the bomb doesn’t travel the full distance and will more than likely explode on-planet or even in the middle of the battle in space,” she explained.
“Fuck that!” Kaiden balked. “Chief, take over.”
“Do what?” the EI demanded. “But I’m about to fire the big guns.”
“I’ll do that, but this is more important and you’re better at it,” he pointed out with no leniency in his tone.
“Well, yeah, but—dammit! Get off the controls,” he welched and appeared in the screen as Kaiden stepped back and moved to the cannon controls. For a brief moment, the EI turned an annoyed red. “Talk about blue-balling a guy.”
“This should have been how it was to begin with,” the ace pointed out as he studied the screen where it showed a reticule aimed toward the dreadnaught closing in on the blockade of military ships. “Damn, that’s a big bastard,” he commented and turned his attention to the side of the screen that showed various outputs for the cannon. “Hey, the power output is only a little over half,” he noted and adjusted it to full. “Did leaving the suite dumb you down that much?”
“All right, Chi. I have it locked. We’re ready to—wait. What was that, Kaiden?” Chief asked but by this point, Kaiden already hovered his hand over the large red button to fire the cannon.
“Firing!” the ace shouted and pounded the button. He lurched back as both barrels of the cannons fired at the dreadnaught and the station was jostled enough that lights began to go on and off. Shocked, he caught hold of the edge of the console and hauled himself toward it to stare as two massive blasts of blue energy rocketed through the dreadnaught and combined in a massive eruption.
The crew inside the Fenrir, all the blockade ships, and those who could see the blast from the windows at the edge of the station, all stopped momentarily. They gaped at the destruction wrought by the attack. Fighting soon continued, but damn if it wasn’t impressive.
“Good God. It’s a damn good thing they never had the weapons ready,” Kaiden exclaimed.
“Dammit, Kaiden!” Chief remonstrated furiously. “You’re lucky I still had access to the station. A blast at full power could have caused a temporary shutdown. I had to divert power to make sure the link between us and Chiyo didn’t crash.”
The ace looked bemused. “What? Shit, sorry,” he stated with honest regret. “Have you been able to get the bomb away yet?”
“I’m waiting for Chiyo to press the go button,” he replied.
“I have the gate working on my end,” Chiyo responded. The box containing the bomb began to brighten increasingly with both the energy of the device and the beginnings of the warp field. “The coordinates are set…only a little longer.”
“Hey, stop!” Indre shouted as two of the Omega scientists made a break for it.
“Don’t bother, Indre,” the infiltrator told her. “If this goes wrong, they have nowhere they can run to fast enough to avoid it.”
“She is quite right,” the lead technician confirmed. “If you manage to pull this off, I must say I will be impressed.”
“You should be thankful,” the agent snapped. “We’re the ones fixing your mistake and saving your ass.”
“It wasn’t a mistake,” he corrected. “It was an order.”
She scowled and held her gun trained on him. “See how well that defends you once we’re done with this.”
“I’d imagine poorly,” he replied.
“I’m warping the bomb, Chief,” the infiltrator stated and backed away from the console as the box glowed to its brightest hue. “It’s on you now.”
Energy continued to spread and Indre, Chiyo and the scientist retreated a little farther as it moved closer to them. Chiyo worried for a moment that she was too late or the teleporter did not work properly. Soon, however, the energy condensed into itself before it vanished altogether. She raced to the console to check, but it was down. “Kaitō, what’s wrong?”
“It is a momentary surge, madame, and should correct itself,” the EI reassured her. He had no sooner finished his statement when the monitors turned on again. She opened a separate screen quickly and searched for energy signatures of the bomb on Earth. Thankfully, she found nothing.
“Chief, are you there?” she asked, “Is it gone?” She received no response. “Chief?”
“Sorry, darlin’. I had to concentrate and make sure I didn’t slingshot it into a star or something,” he finally responded with a mirthful chuckle. “I’m happy to report the bomb is gone and has done a grand total of zero damage to anyone or anything. Great work.”
She released a sigh of relief, looked at Indre, and nodded. Her teammate reciprocated and even the Omega technician seemed somewhat pleased. “We still have to deal with the rest of the enemy forces here, but our main objective is complete,” she reported. “I take it you are on schedule?”
“For the most part. We still gotta deal with all the hostiles and free the civvies, but we have control of the station so it’s only a matter of keeping it,” Chief confirmed. “I’d tell the others to wrap it up quickly if you want to join the main attack on the embassy and the push to defeat Merrick. Once we have our foothold, I doubt we will have the luxury of waiting around—not that many will want to.”
