Chapter 5
Launched at dusk, the raids and arrests had gone smoothly, capturing over a dozen conspirators and freeing over a hundred prisoners. Three of the four militia mechwarriors had caved under interrogation and admitted their role in the raids, but claimed to have no knowledge of where they originated, claiming they had been picked up on route. The breakthrough came from interrogating the chief of police. He didn’t know where the pirates came from either, but he did know the name of one of the dropships that carried supplies to and from their hidden base, a Mule class dropship called Maria Amelia. The Maria Amelia was already known to Magistracy of Canopus Intelligence as a suspect vessel and it hadn't taken long for Rebecca to request its last know location and heading, then arrange for two Leopard class dropships to intercept and capture it. Faced with the choice of cooperating or facing execution as a pirate, the dropship captain gave up the base’s location and enough details to make an assault viable.
It was built in the ruins of a research station, located on an airless world in a system abandoned since the fall of the Star League. The research station had been built within an enormous pressurised ferro-glass dome and there was only one airlock, a truly massive affair designed to allow vehicles up to the size of mechs to transit to and from the dropship landing zone which was located some way from the station.
A joint plan of action had been agreed upon. A company of Rangers infantry would secret themselves aboard the Maria Amelia and infiltrate the station, securing the airlock and atmospheric controls as they did so. Once they were in, Rebecca’s Leopard class dropships would drop Kyle’s Sword Lance directly outside the airlock, ready to reinforce the infantry, while her aerospace fighters controlled the air above. Finally, the Formidable would land with the rest of the Rangers’ forces, minus a small garrison left on Midale, ready to mop up any remaining resistance.
Captain Zhao’s A Company was chosen to lead the attack, which was how David, Paul, Cassy and Jian found themselves hidden under a tarpaulin inside a pressurised shipping container aboard the Maria Amelia.
“This seems weird.” David commented.
“What do you mean?” Peter asked.
“Well, a fortnight ago, we were enemies. Now the Canopians are our allies and we’re trusting them to get us onto the target.” Peter said.
“I know what you mean.” Cassy said. “Does seem somewhat iffy.”
“Way of the universe.” Peter replied sagely. “My grandfather spent most of his career fighting House Steiner. Then when my father joined up he was fighting the Kuritans on behalf of the Steiners. Then, when I joined up the Kuritans were our valued ally in the fight against Clan Smoke Jaguar.”
David shook his head. “Still seems strange to me.”
Peter chuckled. “Your still young kid, you’ll get used to it.”
“He’s not a kid.” Jian interrupted without looking up from his maintenance ritual. “Not anymore.”
David looked confused but Peter laughed. “Quite right he’s stood in the line now. Congratulations Peter, you’re no longer the kid, you’re officially a Logandaler and a Ranger now.”
“Thanks...I think.” David replied still somewhat confused.
The apparent gravity within the container increased as the dropship began preparation to land, the great engine’s roar was barely audible, noticeable mostly when it cut out as the dropship touched down. A muffled thump told the concealed infantry that the dropship’s ramp had been lowered and then the crawlers carrying the containers started their slow journey towards the habitat.
Peter brought his finger to his lips and took the safety off his rifle. The rest of the fire team did likewise as the crawler came to a halt within the airlock. Sirens announced the closing of the outer door as air started to slowly filter into the air lock. Time seemed to slow down as the troopers waited anxiously for the inner door to open.
“This could be a problem.” Peter whispered as he checked his watch.
“What do you mean?” David asked.
“It’s taken over 15 minutes to cycle the air lock. We’re going to have to hold for at least that long without mech support.” Peter replied.
“Oh.” David said.
“Yes, oh.” Peter said. “Everyone look sharp, won’t be long now.”
The sirens went off again as the air pressure normalised and the inner doors began to open. Shortly after the crawler lurched forward again, clearing the air lock and moving into the habitat proper. It didn’t move far before it stopped abruptly. The troopers inside grasped their weapons tighter as loud clunking sounds signalled that someone was opening the sealed door at the far end. Peter brought his rifle up to his shoulder and moved to cover the door, David moved alongside to cover him.
The door opened and natural light flooded into the container. A bored looking pirate with his rifle slung over his shoulder looked in, his eyes widening with shock as instead of the cratered food stuffs he came face to face with a fully armed platoon of infantry. Bravely he tried to turn and shout a warning, but Peter’s first shot took him in the chest, David’s hit him a fraction of a second later.
“Go, go, go!” David could hear the platoon sergeant shouting as he jumped out of the container, following Peter round to their right. Ahead of them a small group of pirates clustered around a concrete pillbox dove for cover as they belatedly realised they were under attack and started to fire at the dismounting infantry. Peter snapped off a shot at them and then dropped to the floor and started laying down covering fire. Beside him the rest of the fireteam was doing the same, he could hear the buzzsaw sound of Jian’s machinegun alongside the low pitched whine of Peter and Cassy’s laser rifles. David’s heart raced, adrenaline pumping, as he lay on the cold concrete road utterly exposed to return fire. One of the pirates had got their machine gun into action and was firing off snap bursts from the pillbox’s embrasure. A round pinged off the road inches from David’s body as another punched though his webbing. He wanted to run, but he knew if he did the machine gun would be free to wreak havoc on the troopers dismounting behind him, so he stayed put and kept firing at the embrasure. More troopers were joining the firing line now as another section worked their way round the flank. David slammed a fresh energy cell into his rifle as he saw a trooper crawl up to the pillbox and throw a grenade through the embrasure. The firing stopped as an explosion tore through the pillbox, killing the occupants.
“Cease fire!” Corporal Minor’s shouted. “Cease fire.” David looked around, surprised to see that the fire fight was already over and the air lock secured. A number of troopers were down in the space behind the crawlers, medics were dragging those that were still alive into cover so they could treat them.
“My section, move out.”
Peter jumped up to his feet along with the rest of the section and started to move off down the road. Their platoon had been given the responsibility of taking the atmospheric controls while the other two platoons secured the airlock in preparation for the mechwarriors’ arrival. David brought up the fireteam’s rear while Jian led the front with his machine gun. They had barely made it 300m down the rabbit warren of streets before they ran into opposition.
“Contact front!” Jian shouted as he fired a burst from the hip into a hab block at the end of the street. The rest of the section ducked into what little cover the street offered as bullets zipped down by them. David tried to find a target as Jian continued to laydown suppressive fire, but he couldn’t see what he was aiming at.
“Enemy infantry, first floor, 11oclock!” Peter shouted out as he opened fire. David still couldn’t see a target, but he added his fire anyway, hoping it would at least make them duck.
“Peter, I’m going right, cover...” Corporal Minors didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence as a stray bullet struck him in the head.
“Shit.” Peter exclaimed as the corporal dropped down dead. “Keep firing damn it,” he ordered as he rapidly made up a plan on a fly. “Jian keep firing. Cassy drop me some smoke.” He turned to the other fire team’s missile trooper. “Put a missile into the 3rd window, first floor.”
“On it,” the trooper replied as he swung his launcher off his back and flicked into dumb fire mode. The missile leapt out of the launcher and streaked through the thickening smoke to explode against the hab block wall.
“Follow me.” Peter shouted as he jumped up and charged through the smoke. Jian checked fire, but the pirates were still reeling from the explosion and the charging infantry somehow made it to the end of the street unharmed. Peter didn’t slow his run until he slammed into the hab block wall, David right beside him.
Peter quickly took in his surroundings and made his decision. “You two take the bottom floor,” he said to the troopers from the other fireteam. “David, we’ll take the top. Give them a grenade.”
David nodded as he took a frag grenade off his belt and threw it through the first story window. He made to go through the doorway immediate, only to be stopped by Peter’s outstretched arm.
“Wait!” Peter barked as he listened for the explosion. The moment he heard it he kicked the door open. “Go, go, go,” he shouted as the troopers moved passed him, cleared the lower floor as they went. “Clear,” they shouted back to him.
“Moving.” Peter replied as he darted through the doorway, David followed him closely. David could feel his nerves returning as they stalked towards the stairs, his heart beating so fast he felt for sure the others could hear it. He flushed with embarrassment and anger, and that last emotion carried him forwards. Reaching the bottom of the stairs the two troopers covered the landing with their rifles. Peter readied a grenade and lofted it into the rooms above. This time David waited for the bang before storming up the stairs. Peter went left at the top, David right. The first pirate he came across was still staggering from the concussion, David shot him and carried on, moving through the rooms shooting anyone who offered resistance. Eventually he ran out of rooms and enemies. “Right side clear,” he shouted, followed shortly by Peter saying the same about the left.
The section regrouped in the hab block under Peter’s command while 2nd section took over the advance. Soon they were moving again, in reserve this time. Ahead they could hear the other two sections engaging any pirates unfortunately enough to run into them. Jian was leading the way once more as the section cautiously advanced along a street between two disused hab blocks. Suddenly he raised his hand, signalling the section to halt and took a knee. The rest of the section copied him as Peter jogged forward to see why they had stopped.
“Listen, mech.” Jian said.
“One of ours?” David asked hopefully.
“Shush.” Peter replied. “It’s too soon.” The rest of the section remained silent as he listened intently, his expression growing more concerned by the moment as he tried to pick out the tell-tale thumps of mech footsteps from amongst the background noise of gunfire and explosions.
“To close,” he whispered. “Take cover, now!”
The section scattered into the disused hab blocks just in time as a Vindicator stalked into view at the next crossroads. There it paused for a moment as the 45ton mech’s sensors probing the street, searched for the intruding infantry. David crawled up beside Peter and readied a missile reload.
“Are we engaging?”
Peter thought about it. He’d already called the sighting in and been ordered to stay out of sight. But, that mech was now at the rear of the rest of the platoon, if it stumbled upon them while they were in the middle of assaulting the atmospheric control plant it would be a massacre. He keyed the section comms.
“Listen in, we have the draw that big bastard away from the rest of the platoon. Shoot and scoot.” He unslung his missile launcher and flipped up the sights. “Firing.”
The missile’s soft launch motor kicked it out of the tube and out of the window before the main motor ignited. The heat seeker locked onto the mech and the missile curved round in a tight arc to strike it with a muffled explosion on the right shoulder.
“Reload.” Peter shouted, though he didn’t need to, David was already slotting the next missile into place as the mech turned. The rest of the section were firing now, a mixture of missiles, bullets and laser beams impacted the Vindicator, though to seeming little effect.
Peter’s second missile steaked out of its tube. “Displace,” he shouted as he saw the Vindicator bringing its weapons to bear. David grabbed the missile reloads and scrabbled back just in time as laser fire slashed through the space he had just been occupying. Together they dashed back through the block, taking up new positions in a long-abandoned bedroom. David reloaded, Peter fired and then they both ran as their fire inevitable attracted retaliation. They had lost track of Jian and Cassy in the confusion, though they could still hear Jian’s machine gun firing somewhere ahead of them. Across the other side of the road the other fireteam was still fighting, though cries of man down across the radio net meant at least one of them had been caught by return fire.
“Displace.” Peter shouted and again they ran from their position, their hair standing on end as man-made lighting from the Vindicator’s PPC shattered the room they had just been in.
“This is the last missile,” shouted David, half deafened by the constant explosions, it was all he could do to focus on the job at hand.
“Let’s make it count then.” Peter replied as he knelt by the side of an open doorframe and took careful aim.
The missile impacted the Vindicator’s chest with a small explosion. The mech turned to retaliate when suddenly a larger explosion tore into its right arm, tearing away the PPC barrel.
“What was that?” David exclaimed.
“Our mechs.” Peter replied with a savage smile as a hulking Banshee painted in the Ranger’s green and brown disruptive camo strode though the smoke, pounding the Vindicator with PPC fire and hyper sonic slugs from its Gauss Rifle. It was an uneven contest and the smaller mech was soon reduced into a twisted heap of scrap metal.
“Hey up the infantry, where do you need me?” Kyle’s voice echoed through the street as he used his mech’s loud hailers.
Peter flicked through the frequencies on his radio till he found the one he needed. “Hey up Sword Lance,” he returned the traditional Logandale greeting between units. “Lieutenant’s assaulting the atmospheric plant up ahead, he might need some fire support.”
“On it.” Kyle replied. “See you on the other side.”
Peter changed frequency back to his section. “What’s the condition of the casualty?”
“Stable, but we can’t move him,” a voice replied.
“Roger, go stationary here and wait for extraction.” Peter ordered. “My fire team. Follow that mech.”
From there, the assault rapidly turned into a mopping up operation. None of the remaining pirate mechs were a match for Kyle’s Banshee much less the other heavy mechs still making their way through the air lock and without mech support the pirate infantry had little hope of repelling assaults on their position. Within an hour all organised resistance had ceased and the sounds of conflict slowly died down as the last pockets of hold outs were supressed one by one. Within three hours the entire station was within Shadowsword’s Rangers’ control.