Tipping Point in the Alliance War (10 page)

“Plastic,”
she says, as she reaches behind her.  Once again, Lieutenant Clawson has
guessed her intentions and has the package of plastic-explosives ready to hand
to her.  “Everyone
get
around the corner,” she
says, as she presses the plastic explosive package against the bulkhead. 
She quickly joins her troops, who have taken refuge around the nearest
corner.   She activates the remote trigger mechanism and the
plastic-explosives package detonates. 

There
is now a hole where there used to be a bulkhead door.  “Abdul and Ying,
stay here and cover our backs.  Clawson and Sutton, you’re with me.”

 Sgt
Sutton reaches around the corner and rolls another camera-pod down the corridor
which leads to the Bridge.  This camera-pod is quickly destroyed but
enough video was transmitted so that Captain
Baarg
can see that there is a much more robust defensive position, in front of the
closed Bridge doors.  And there are three doorways along the corridor
before the Bridge doors – probably a conference room, the Captain’s ready room,
and perhaps the Captain’s quarters.  Those rooms will need to be cleared
before an assault on the Bridge is attempted.

 
“Let’s make a new doorway into this first room,” she orders.  “The walls
are probably not armored until we reach the Bridge walls.  Get the
plasma-torch.”

Sgt.
Sutton retrieves the plasma-torch and begins cutting a new doorway into the
nearest room.  Metal, insulation and wiring turn to liquid as the
white-hot flame draws a line through the wall.  As that process is
underway, Captain
Baarg
checks on the status of the
2-man teams that she assigned to blockade the forward/aft corridors.  The
volume and frequency of the weapons fire indicates, to her, that the rear-guard
teams are under heavy fire.

“We
have 2 men dead,” she reports to Sgt. Sutton and Lieutenant Clawson, “but they
are still blocking all three corridors.  We have to move faster.”

Just
as the words leave her mouth, Sgt Sutton pushes aside the cut-away piece of
wall, leaving the new opening.  Sgt. Sutton pulls back, out of the way,
and Lt. Clawson jumps through the opening, with his finger on the trigger of
his over/under assault rifle.  He is confronted by 2 Confederation
security guards in light armor, who are firing their low-level laser rifles at
him, continuously.  Lt. Clawson pulls both triggers and sweeps a line of
laser and armor-piercing projectile fire across both enemy sailors.  One
sailor is dead and the other is screaming in agony, until Lt. Clawson
administers a mercy-killing shot to the head.  “Clear,” he says.

Well,
the Marines are closer to the barricade in front of the Bridge doorway, but
they still have another 20 feet to go and they are running out of time. 
“Give me another satchel,” orders Captain
Baarg
.

Sgt.
Sutton retrieves the satchel-bomb and Captain
Baarg
explains the plan to her:  “I’m going to open this door and toss this bomb
to the guards at the barricade.  When it explodes, there will be enough
disorientation so that they won’t be firing for a few seconds.  That will
give Lt. Clawson time to jump across the corridor and to stick a pack of
plastic-explosives, onto the door opposite ours.  After he is back inside
this room, I will trigger the plastic and blow the door open.  As soon as
you can see that the doorway is open, you launch yourself into the room and
clear it of enemy forces.”

“Got it,”
responds the Sergeant, as she moves out of the way so that the Captain and
Lieutenant can have unfettered access to the doorway.

Captain
Baarg
sets the timer, swings her arm, and launches
the satchel toward the barricade.  She quickly pulls her arm back inside
the room in time to avoid the shrapnel, which will be coming as the result of
the explosion.

Immediately
after the shrapnel clears, Lt. Clawson jumps across the hallway and sticks the
plastic-explosive package to the door.  As predicted, he makes it back
inside the occupied room, before the enemy has recovered enough to target
him.  When everyone is clear of the doorway, Captain
Baarg
triggers the remote and the plastic-package explodes, leaving an open doorway
across the hall.

Sgt.
Sutton gets a running start and launches herself through the doorway, across
the corridor, and into the facing doorway.  She dives onto the floor and
rolls away from the doorway.  Once again, there are 2 security guards in
light armor firing low-power lasers at her.  She feels a little guilty
about killing someone who is at such a disadvantage, but she does it quickly,
so as to minimize their suffering.  “Clear,” she announces.

“We
have to hurry,” says Captain
Baarg
.  “Our outer
corridor blockades are about to fail.  I ordered them to fall back to join
Abdul and Ying behind the barricade at the entrance to this corridor.  We
have to take that Bridge before that last defensive line fails.”

“That
last satchel-bomb weakened the barricade in front of the Bridge door and killed
some of the guards, but the door is still closed,” observes Lt. Clawson, “and
those guards have heavier weapons, along with armor that is about equal to
ours.  They must be the Admiral’s personal guard.”

“Probably,”
says Captain
Baarg
.  “Sutton, how far does that
conference room go toward the Bridge wall?”

“Looks
like it
goes
most of the way - it’s a big room. 
There is a door at the end of the room that probably provides access to a small
supply and equipment room.  I would bet that the Bridge is just on the
other side of that equipment room, but I expect that wall will be armored.”

“Probably,”
says the Captain, “but we would be foolish not to check.  Here,” she says,
as she throws the plasma-torch across the corridor and into the conference
room.  “Go find out.”

“On
it,” says Sgt Sutton, as she scoops up the torch equipment and runs to the
equipment room.

***

 “Captain,
the wall to the Bridge is armored, but there is a piece of equipment that looks
like a dedicated life support system.
 
Maybe it is a backup in case the ship’s life support goes offline.
 
If that is what it is, there will be some
vents going into the Bridge – it might be a weak spot in their armor.”

 “Good
thought,” says Captain
Baarg
.
 
“Clawson, go get all of our explosives.
 
If we can blow a hole in the Bridge wall, we
can take control of the Bridge.”

“Be
right back,” says Lieutenant Clawson.

While
Clawson is getting the explosives, Captain
Baarg
gets
a running start and leaps through the doorway, across the corridor, and into
the opposite doorway.
 
Some shots are fired
by the Admiral’s guards, who are barricading the Bridge doors, but she is
inside the conference room, before the guards can react.

When
Clawson returns with the explosives, he bundles them all together and slings
them across the corridor and into the waiting arms of Captain
Baarg
.
 
“Cover our
backs,” she instructs Clawson.
 
“If we
blast a hole in the Bridge wall, those guards are going to open the Bridge
doors and go inside the Bridge, so that they can kill us.
 
When they open the doors, you attack them
from behind.”

“Got
it,” says Lieutenant Clawson.
  

***

“Demolitions
ready,” says Sgt. Sutton.
 
“Let’s hope it
works.”

Captain
Baarg
has busied herself in making a pile of
furniture, so that they can have a little shelter from the explosion.
 
It is hard to tell what the explosion will
do.
 
Hopefully, it will make a hole in
the Bridge wall.
 
Certainly, it will blow
away the thin wall that separates the storage room from the conference
room.
 
It may also blow a hole in the
corridor wall, which separates the conference room, from the barricaded
Confederation soldiers.
 
“Do it,” she
tells Sutton.

Sgt.
Sutton kneels behind the stack of furniture and presses the detonator
button.
 
…… ……… That was the last thing
she remembers, until she hears Captain
Baarg
growling
at her.
 
She regains consciousness, while
the Captain is dragging her toward the hole in the Bridge’s armored wall.
 
Captain
Baarg
releases her and says; “Let’s go.” And then disappears into the opening in the
wall.

Sgt.
Sutton gathers her wits about her, as she tries to stand and to get her weapon
ready.
 
There is a lot of gunfire, not
only from the Bridge, but also from the corridor where the Admiral’s guards are
stationed.
 
She pushes her weapon through
the hole in the wall, and follows it into the Bridge compartment.
 

She
arrives in time to see the Admiral trying to enter something into the computer
– the self-destruct code – she thinks.
 
Apparently, Captain
Baarg
has the same thought
because she leaves her cover and launches herself at the Admiral.
 
With one quick jerk, she breaks the Admiral’s
neck - thus insuring that the ship cannot be self-destructed.
 

The
armored guards from the barricade have entered the room and have their weapons
aimed at Captain
Baarg
, who is now exposed.

Sgt.
Sutton opens fire on the Confederation armored guards, at the same time that
Lieutenant Clawson attacks them from behind.
 
The Confederation armored guards pay no attention to either of the
Allience
shooters.
 
They are completely focused on avenging the death of their Admiral.
 
Marines Clawson and Sutter kill the guards,
but not before they have killed Captain
Baarg
.

***

On the
Courageous Bridge

There
is cheering and shouting on the Courageous Bridge, when Captain
Barrg’s
launch attaches to the enemy flagship, but Captain
Niles quickly refocuses their attention, onto their jobs. 

“Tactical,”
orders the Captain.  “No more missiles - they might damage our
Marines.  Fire every rail gun as fast as they will go and spread the fire
around, so that every Confederation vessel gets their fair share.”

“Aye
sir.”

“Navigation,
keep an eye on our launches and when one attaches to an enemy vessel, color it
orange on
Tactical’s
display.”

“Aye
sir.”

“Tactical,
when ships are orange, don’t fire at them.” instructs the Captain.  “Let
the Marines take care of them.”

“Aye
sir.”

And
the Captain keeps them busy.

“Navigation,
how is the Brutus doing?”

“Logistics,
Give me some damage reports.”

“Confederation vessel just
exploded, sir.” says the First Officer.

Another
cheer goes up, but no one takes their eyes off of their work station, this
time.

“How many
orange ones, Navigation?” asks the Captain.

“I
count 6, sir,” responds Navigation.

“Damage
report, sir,” announces Logistics:

“Engineering
suffered a brief hull breach. 
Ten injuries - auxiliary
units en route.
  Top Thruster damaged – awaiting maintenance. 
Warp drive is OK.

Nine
rail gun positions down - maintenance ongoing on one.

Fifteen
laser canons down. 
Five positions unresponsive -
maintenance ongoing on three.

Missile
launchers five thru twelve are down - awaiting maintenance.

Hull
breaches in ten places.  Eight were sealed automatically.  Two were
sealed temporarily, using
insty
-balloons.

Fires
on all decks - none mission critical. 
Fire crews
working all fires.

“Another Confederation vessel
exploded, sir.” interjects the First Officer.
“Two more on
fire and out of the battle.”

The
Logistics Officer continues with his damage report:

“Moderate damage to life support systems -
maintenance ongoing.

Moderate
damage to Medical Complex - auxiliary units en route.

Extensive
damage to living quarters.
 
Fire
crews and medical personnel working.
 
Additional
medical personnel en route.”

Navigation
reports on the condition of the Brutus; “The Brutus is still fighting but
she is heavily damaged.  There is fire coming from two hull breaches and
the engineering section is sliced open.  It looks like her engines are
off-line.  The enemy is still pounding her, with fire from 8 ships.”