"Faster!"
Running around a corner, I press my back against the wall. A few seconds of respite, then I peek back out, emptying half a magazine from my monstrous revolver.
The first bullet shattered the head of a huge Mantis, causing the body to thrash in a fit and fall under the feet of the others, but the cursed creatures didn't even notice their comrade's death.
The next one was left without a blade-limb, its scream echoing through the spacious corridors of the station, while the third caught an armor-piercing explosive round in the chest, collapsing face-down and tripping over its own limbs.
"Boss, we're being pushed back here!" The shouts of the squad leader who had come with me to the station were cut short by an explosion somewhere deep inside. The lights flickered, growing dimmer. Several bulbs burst, and shards of glass showered our heads. The alarm siren changed its tone, becoming much louder and more intense. "Fuck! THEY'RE COMING!"
A repeater began chattering from the adjacent corridor. Mounted on a tripod, it sent thousands of laser bolts into the passage, turning the corridor into a death zone, killing anyone who dared to pass... and there were far too many willing.
"Barrel's overheated... A-A-A!"
A mad death rattle made me turn and raise my Pistol for a new shot, but I didn't have time to do anything. A wave of the Force rolled across the floor, slamming into the breaching Yam'rii and blocking our hole in the defense. A Plasma Shield shimmered with overflowing power as dozens of blade-arms struck it again and again.
"Fall back to the hangars!" Grabbing the nearest soldier who had lost his legs by the scruff of the neck, I dragged him along, continuing to fire at the bugs approaching from various passages. Moving backward, I repeatedly stumbled over the mutilated or blackened corpses of the local security. Having died quite gruesome deaths from venom or the claws of the giant Mantis, these poor souls had done their duty to the last, trying to buy as much time as possible with their own bodies for the retreating command we were following. "Move, move, move!"
Shoving my blaster into the wounded Helldiver's hands, I fire the last rounds at a bug that had gotten too close to Fay. The body, torn in half, gave one last desperate jerk, hoping to tear the Jedi to pieces, but instead slammed into the wall where it was swept by a torrent of the Force.
The elf ran alongside everyone else, not trying to pull ahead. Tracing patterns with her hands, she threw back waves of bugs, crushing bulkheads or bringing the ceiling down on the freaks getting too close.
"BURN!"
As soon as we ran into the hangar, it turned out the situation there wasn't much better. Two dozen broken Kodiak Shuttles, the husks of fighters and small frigates that were supposed to evacuate guests and staff. Hundreds of corpses and broken turrets and drones forming a barricade against the constantly advancing enemy.
Several streams of flame struck the passage perpendicular to ours. Stepping forward, a pair of flamethrower units doused the corridor and everyone running through it with fire, generously gifting the countless enemies with incendiary mixture.
Handing the wounded Helldiver over to my people, I pick up the nearest assault blaster lying in abundance underfoot... for there were many bodies of my people, though the bodies of Yam'rii and pirates were even more numerous.
"Connection with our fleet?"
"Established," Miranda nodded, continuing to pick off enemies as she tossed a lekku over her shoulder. The girl was distracted for only a moment, but because of that, a couple of bugs broke through to the first flamethrower, and a second later an explosion rocked the corridor as the fuel tank detonated on its owner's command. "Shit! SAM!"
Turning sharply, I raise the rifle and open fire to kill, trying to hit the legs of the advancing insect horde. Flashbacks from my past life flickered before my eyes. My hands repeatedly wanted to dart to my belt to throw a beacon to call in an orbital strike, and the loud crunch of clicking chelicerae echoed in my ears despite the helmet's soundproofing.
Stepping slightly ahead of the rest of the squad, I focus all the enemy's attention on myself while my people continued to hastily board the surviving ships and—alongside the surviving station security—hold the line.
And very few of them had survived. Gas released by saboteurs through the ventilation system had killed eighty percent of the station's personnel before the boarding even began. A gruesome, agonizing death full of wheezing, groans, and blood... and the most frustrating part was that a simple gas mask could have saved them from such a horrific fate, but Rendili's security had relied too much on their defense systems and paid the price.
Nevertheless, there were still plenty of droids and automation on the station, so the guns continued to fire, sending massive plasma bolts toward the huge fleet moving in for the strike.
Every so often, the walls shook from new hits, but the creation built by Rendili held on, continuing to shield us from death in open space.
Several blades flying past my head forced me out of my unpleasant reflections. Diving left, I ducked under the massive body of a bug, then, with the reinforced exoskeleton of my armor, I kicked the creature's knee, forcing it to its joint.
A knife flew from my belt; spinning it with my fingers, I drove the blade into the Mantis's head, then jerked it back and delivered another strike to the chest. The Yam'rii collapsing onto me wheezed long and hard, but I had already climbed onto its back and, with one smooth motion, slit its throat.
Another bug rushed me from the side, but Miranda's well-aimed shot knocked the creature down mid-charge, dropping the overgrown insect's body under the feet of its neighbor, into whose head I had already thrown a knife.
Jumping off the dead Yam'rii's back, I drop to one knee and open aimed fire at the numerous targets closing in every second. The blaster grew red-hot. The poor barrel could barely handle the load as I culled the bugs. But everything has a limit, and I met the next bug with a strike from the red-hot barrel, leaving a long burn across its triangular face. Gripping the blaster like a spear, I brought a downward strike, driving the bent barrel into the bug's leg.
Dodging a swing of its blade-arms, I grab one of them, jumping slightly to the side with the momentum. Pulling the limb toward me, I snap it in the middle with an elbow strike and, with a sharp pivot, drive it into its former owner's head.
"SAM! We're leaving!"
Running in a pendulum motion away from the crowd pouring out of the corridors—where they had already managed to devour my flamethrowers—I leap onto the closing ramp. Miranda and Arkam catch me in their arms while the Helldivers standing around curse and zealously spray the blue-green wave filling the hangar.
"Get me a connection to the Somnia! Now!" Untangling myself from the firm embrace, I stand up and run through the shuttle's cabin, instantly reaching the cockpit... but I freeze, seeing the battle unfolding around the station. "Connection, urgent!"
Grabbing the handrail, I barely keep my feet as the swerving shuttle began an evasive maneuver from a cruiser hurtling toward the station. The massive bulk of the starship rammed the hangar where we had been fighting just a minute ago, crushing steel plates and detonating everything inside.
Several shuttles with survivors were swallowed in the explosion or swept away by debris that scattered generously in all directions after the collision of the hammer and anvil.
"Get us out of the fight!"
A burst of laser fire raked the shuttle. Blue streaks punched through the shield in the left hemisphere and turned our wing into a mangled mess. The co-pilot lost his balance and slammed his nose into the instrument panel with all his might.
Shoving aside the now-dead young boy, I take his place, frantically trying to contact my dear deputy while the chaos and horror of a major battle raged around us.
"Hit the thrusters! The thrusters, damn it!" The lead pilot slapped my shoulder; apparently, from the rush of adrenaline and fear, he hadn't even noticed his partner had changed. Without arguing, I follow the order of the pilot who was screaming like a rancor, and at that same moment, the shuttle pulled a painfully sharp turn, skirting one of the Judicial Forces Dreadnoughts along its entire hull. The heavy cruiser's guns fired in our direction a few times, but the gunners must have figured it out quickly, as they then began pouring the full power of their weapons into a sister ship closing in on them broadside to broadside. "GO LEFT! TO THE LEFT!"
The lead pilot was screaming like a madman, and I could understand him. Flying past the Judicial Forces Dreadnought, we came out onto a cluster of Gozanti-class cruisers engaged in a futile battle with a pirate squadron, gradually dissolving into fiery flashes under the dull thuds of torpedoes and missiles.
Tossing in different directions, constantly pulling sharp turns, we flew through the battlefield, repeatedly witnessing idiocy and heroism, and sometimes both at once.
Helping with the controls, I nevertheless did not abandon attempts to contact our fleet, which was standing by. And as we flew through another cloud of space debris, hitting a dozen bodies of dead spacers, the connection worked.
"Sam, what's going on there..."
"A fucking disaster!" Interrupting my deputy's indignant question, I press into the seat as a swarm of fighters roared past us, half of which were shot down on approach. "The situation is critical, heavy losses. Bring the fleet in here; we're up against pirates and the Katana. Don't spread thin and don't play hero... Shit!"
A Carrack-class light cruiser that emerged before us erupted in a series of volleys, blowing out the engines of one of the pirate vessels, but paying for those antics with its own life. A dozen torpedoes slammed into the center of the elongated light cruiser, snapping it in half. The two parts of the massive vessel began to be pulled toward the station, lighting up the area with flashes of explosions and crew members being blown out into open space.
"SAM!?"
"I'm fine... Carry out the order, Somnia! Faster, before we get fried here!"
Wrenching the wheel, I'm about to scream indignantly at the pilot who messed up, but only then do I notice that shrapnel has shredded the cockpit. Although the protective bulkheads had sealed the holes, it hadn't saved the flyer from death. His body, riddled with jagged pieces of metal, slumped to the floor, drenching my legs in blood.
"For God's sake... Arkam! I need your help!"
Lunging into the pilot's seat, I don't even have time to buckle up before I have to repeat another mad maneuver, dodging the uncontrolled flight of a Consular-class cruiser. Covered in bursts of flame, missing half its port side, the war machine slammed into a Katana Fleet Dreadnought, plowing through it from bow to stern and causing a mutual detonation.
"Hurry up! We're reaching the point," glancing at the sparking computer, I punch the instrument panel in frustration, "the comms are dead. Sula, for mother's sake, get over here!"
****
"Hurry..."
"Commander, the connection cut out on the other side."
Biting her lip, Somnia stared intensely at the monitor screen, hoping Sam would come back on the line any second, but no miracle occurred. Nevertheless, the girl refused to believe in his sudden death. Altman was insanely lucky, and she knew a couple of fleets wouldn't be enough to kill him...
"You heard the order. Proceed."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The confidence in her voice instilled hope in the others. Operators, signalmen, commanders of assault groups and fighter wings—everyone scrambled in different directions, preparing to move out in the coming minutes.
"Helmsman, full ahead," stepping onto the general Helldivers comms channel, the deputy spoke in her usual cold and terrifying tone, "all ships—move out in battle formation. Less than ten minutes until we reach the target; be ready for combat immediately upon exiting hyperspace."
"Acknowledged. Understood. Finally."
The reports from the task force commanders were music to her ears and allowed the girl's tense figure to relax. There was no point in worrying now, as she couldn't do anything anyway, but in ten minutes...
Looking through the observation viewport, Somnia watched with a kind of inner tremor and awe as a dozen massive vessels maneuvered into battle positions. The Dreadnoughts, Carrack-class light cruisers, and smaller cruisers and frigates scurrying around them were completely dwarfed by these war machines.
Forming a vertical wedge, the fleet began its slow acceleration. Commands and battle stations alarms echoed through the decks. The sabatons of Helldivers thundered as they hastily lined up in the hangars and at the pod launch bays.
Defense turrets were activated, and ship gunners conducted final checks.
"The fleet is ready, boss."
"Jump!" Not wasting time on a speech, Somnia gave the order everyone had been waiting for. Forty ships tore through hyperspace to aid their commander and to protect the Free citizens of the Republic from the pirate threat.
The minutes stretched into an endless wait. It felt as if time had slowed its pace and they had lived a whole new life while those ten minutes flew by in hyperspace...
But the voice of the senior CIC operator pulled everyone out of their tense state, once again making hearts beat faster and adrenaline surge into the blood.
"Exiting hyperspace in three... two... one..."
With a pop, the ships burst into the familiar blackness of space, but it only seemed that way for an instant. Stray shots from the battlefield hitting the vanguard's shields made everyone grab for their instrument panels...
A literal hell was unfolding behind the viewports.
Hundreds of ships had met in a mortal struggle. The Katana Fleet—which was no longer appropriate to call that due to the destruction of the lead ship—was driving like an inexorable steamroller into the ranks of the Rendili defenders, the Judicial Forces, and Tarkin's SBI, forcing a broadside-to-broadside battle from which the Dreadnoughts were emerging as clear victors.
The wreckage of the battle station where the planetary defense headquarters had been located was now scattering in pieces across the area, hindering all participants in the confrontation. But worst of all, while the Katana Fleet was grinding down the defenders, the pirate scum had rushed toward the planet, bringing death, chaos, and destruction everywhere.
"Leave the dogfight; we have no business there." Entering new data after receiving all the inputs, Somnia had already devised a plan for further action. "All ships, course for Rendili. We will protect the planet's inhabitants from the pirates and preserve this bulwark of Freedom and Democracy in the galaxy."
The simple speech made the girl wince. No matter how much she pouted at Sam... for his sloppiness and adrenaline addiction, of course, which sometimes hindered sound thinking, but one thing Altman couldn't be denied was his stirring speeches that raised the entire Helldivers to unthinkable feats! Allowing them to create a literal miracle.
"Launch fighters, escort ships to the rear, Dreadnoughts to the left flank—cover us from stray shots and stragglers." Already noting a dozen dots on the onboard computer turning in their direction, the girl prepared for a heavy battle. No matter how outdated the Dreadnoughts were considered, they were full-fledged warships that were currently proving it was too early to write them off. Moreover, Rendili had done their best, clearly modernizing and improving not only the automation but also the guns and armor.
Glancing at the battle map, the deputy pointedly grimaced, seeing the Katana Fleet seizing the advantage, even while losing many vessels.
"Commander, they've opened fire on us..."
"Return fire. Ships, fire at will. Designate targets! Show these bastards what we are capable of."
The Peacemaker shuddered from the shots. The port side, in a single impulse, sent a volley from all its guns toward the nearest Dreadnought. Green plasma bolts traced the blackness of space. The first shot was followed by a second, then a third. Together with a pair of sister-ship neighbors, they were draining the shields of a brand-new ship of the "Republic" fleet, which had only recently left the Rendili shipyards.
Flashes of explosions lit up the heavy cruiser, oscillating the shield membrane until it finally burst.
The first series of hits crumpled the bow section. Beginning a turn, the cruiser tried to retreat behind its comrades, to take cover until the shields could restore their integrity, but it had come too close to the Helldivers, so most of the subsequent volleys bloated its starboard side, destroying all the internals of the pirate-captured vessel.
The final shot caught the six-hundred-meter ship's reactor, turning it into a cloud of blue plasma explosion; catching its allies and destroying their shields, it burned away completely, leaving only rare debris scattered through space to tell the tale of the Vindicator-class Heavy Cruiser.
***
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