Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance (22 page)

“Grenade ready, Scotty,” one of his teammates said. They were using a stun grenade since most of the stuff in the armory didn’t like being hit with a pulsed laser beam.

Scotty nodded, and noticed that the other team member had one ready as well. He grinned, this should be fun. “Three, two, one!” Scotty hit the open button, and the big doors slid open.

As soon as there was enough room for them to do so accurately and safely, the two Raptor officers lobbed the stunners into the bay, and ducked back to use the doors as cover until the grenades detonated.

After the double ‘whump’ of the grenades was heard inside their armor, the officers ran through the door, firing at the places where they knew the defenders had been hiding. Four of the defenders had caught the full brunt of the grenades, and were unconscious. Of the remaining two, one was temporarily blinded, and the other was disoriented. Scotty stunned both of them, and set markers for them.

Some of the action had been visible from the anteroom where several very angry Marines were trying to get through to the small weapons locker.

Scotty and his teammates walked up the transparent barrier, and waved at the men. The angry Marines were shouting curses and demanding to be let into their weapons.

Scotty just shook his head, and all three Raptor officers began shooting through the barrier and dropping Marines to the deck like a scythe through wheat.

At first, the Marines panicked, but then they saw that they were only being stunned and became confused. The last man to be stunned was an officer that simply held up his hands.

“What the hell is actually going on here? Is this a training mission of some kind?”

Scotty activated his external speakers, and answered him. “Something like that. You’ll find out when you wake up.”

“Now just a min...” the man said before Scotty put him to sleep next to his fellows. One of the team members jumped through the one-way barrier and cleared the door so it could close. Once closed, he sealed it.

“Titan, this is Scotty, Armory secured.”

Elapsed mission time; four minutes, thirty-four seconds. Twenty-six seconds faster than projected.

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cotty’s second, Officer Sean “Bean” Jennings, led his two teammates toward the ladder to the hatch for deck four. Weapons control was two decks above the armory and toward the center rear of the ship. It was a redundant facility in most ships, since the AI could handle the weapons systems coordination, but by tradition, it was always manned and ready to take over if the AI got too busy or was destroyed.

On the Adonis, it was manned because there was no AI to control it. It had been shut down so the crew could engage in treason without the AI interfering with them.

That didn’t mean that everyone in the crew was treasonous, which was why they were trying to stun the crew instead of just killing them. Besides, there were civilians on the ship, and stunning would avoid an accidental death of an innocent.

Once through the hatch, they had to move down three corridors to the entrance to the control center. Of course, the control center was guarded, but the guards were not in armor, and only carried side arms.

Bean and his teammates came running around the corner with their weapons already raised and quickly stunned the two guards. Since there had been an alarm, the door to the center had been locked and sealed by the computer system. Bean grinned when he entered his override code, and the door cycled.

Bean was in a hurry to get this area secured, and because of that, wasn’t as cautious as he should have been. When he entered the room, he was hit in the chest of his armor by a pistol shot from a defender that had taken cover behind one of the computer terminals.

Although the shot didn’t penetrate the armor, it did hurt, and knocked him back through the door.

He got back up, pissed. “Stupid, stupid, stupid! I deserved that!” he said to his two companions.

One of them nodded. “Yeah, you did.”

Bean slapped the one that spoke on the shoulder. “You don’t have to agree with me, cadet!”

The other cadet took aim at the person that had shot Bean, and hit him in the head with his rifle.

Bean dusted himself off, pulled out a stun grenade, armed it, and tossed it into the room.

Like it was handball, one of the people in the room stood up and swatted it back out in the hall to the attackers, where it promptly detonated.

Of course the armor protected the Raptor team from the effects of the grenade, but it still took them by surprise.

“We got a fuckin’ room full of handball champions here!” Bean said. “Let’s see you rebound this!” he said and rolled the next one into the room. One of the cadets aped him, and both grenades detonated in the room this time. The officers rushed into the room and verified that no one was still conscious. Bean closed the door and sealed it. While one of the cadets locked out the bridge and computer controls.

“Titan, Weapons control room secured... finally.”

. Elapsed mission time five minutes, twenty-two seconds. Fifty-two seconds longer than projected.

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eaper and her remaining team docked the Raptor to the command section access lock using overrides so the computer wouldn’t detect them. On a ship that they didn’t have the codes for, they would have simply blown the hatch and rushed in.

Officer Iona Hastings, the Raptor team’s Electronic Warfare Officer, was working rapidly on her terminal to worm her way into the Adonis’ main control computer. Just as her teammates were ready to breach the door, she smiled. “I’m in, they really lobotomized the AI; this was far too easy.”

“Can you keep the Alarms from going off when we breach?” Reaper asked.

“Yeah, but it won’t matter. The Titan will trigger them anyway when he makes his forced landing. I would advise a blitz attack, Major," Iona replied.

Reaper nodded. “Coordinate with Titan, and let us know when to do this.”

Iona called the Titan, and found them ready for their part in this party. “Major, Titan is on station and standing by. Five count to 'go’ begins... Now! Five, four, three, two, one – Go! Go! Go!”

The count must have been pretty close because as soon as Reaper got both lock hatches open, the breaching alarm began wailing. Reaper and her team members hurled stun grenades down the steps in front of them as they ran forward. The steps down were to the main corridor leading to the bridge, and the Marines guarding the bridge entry.

Not bothering with the steps, the Raptor team jumped down the short flight of steps and ran full out for the hatchway onto the bridge, weapons held at the ready. Standard procedure was for the bridge access hatch to automatically seal in a breach or boarding attack. This was no exception, however, with Iona having access to the main computer systems, she quickly over rode the lock out and cycled the hatchway for her teammates as soon as they reached it.

When Reaper rushed into the room, the barrel of his pulse rifle stopped only inches from the head of Admiral Belirus. The rest of his team spread out covering the bridge. Four people were stunned when they started to move to stop the team.

As soon as everyone stopped, Reaper activated his external speakers and spoke. “Admiral Belirus, bridge crew and officers of the Talosian Defense Force Heavy Cruiser Adonis, Acting on behalf of Talosian High Command, you are hereby ordered to stand down. You are under arrest for treason against the Talosian People as well as the High Council. We have been requested, on behalf of High Councilor Noren, and with the approval of Admiral Goya, Supreme Commander of the Talosian Defense Forces, to relieve you of your control of this ship.”

“I believe you are mistaken, Marine. You have been misled, and are being used by the true traitors of the Talosian people,” Belirus said calmly. "Look, I know I’m a gruff bastard. It’s what has gotten me to where I am. But, I’m also no fool. The current regime has been lying to the people, and suppressing technology and the advancement of our civilization. We are working to correct that. You have no idea who you are working for.”

“Really?” Reaper replied. “What have you been told about this sector, and the facilities in it?”

“We have been sent here to settle a dispute between a rebelling House colony world, and the Talosian Council. Since a military presence would help counter any militant elements in the sector, we were dispatched as a show of force. Look, I have no idea what your leaders have told you, but the bottom line here is that your House is in rebellion against the Talosian High Council. Since you possess one of our last remaining space facilities, the situation has to be handled delicately, to prevent you from destroying the facilities the House has invested so much time and money in. It would also all but bring our war efforts to its knees.”

“I see,” Reaper asked. “Can you tell me which House it is we are supposed to be a colony of?”

The man snorted. “Like you don’t already know that House Heracin built all of this. Please spare me the dumb and innocent routine. It won’t work on me."

Reaper lowered her rifle, and opened her visor, so the man could clearly see her face. “Admiral, do you remember your history files mentioning a ship called Olympus that was ‘destroyed' during the fall of Talos?”

“Of course I do! I am a member of the House Cronos. That ship and its crew are remembered as heroes, what of it?” the man asked coldly.

“Just asking for information purposes, I had no idea what House you were part of, my apologies,” Reaper said. “Can you tell me what you believe to be the origins of the Heavy Cruiser Star Dancer to be?”

“The TDF Star Dancer was built and christened at the Pleiades One facility located here in Sol Sector by House Heracin. She was the first of a new type of advanced cruiser built by the facility. She was later subverted by rebels that are trying to break away from House and Council rule," Belirus replied. “What does all this have to do with your illegal actions?”

“Sir, with respect, and I do mean that,” Reaper said, looking him in the eyes. “It is now obvious to me, at the least, that we are not the ones that have been lied to. I swear on my life, Sir, the information you have is not even close to the truth,” Reaper replied. “With you permission, I think I might even be able to prove it to you.”

“Who are you trooper?” Belirus asked, calmly.

“Major Jene Grimm, Sir, of the Raptor Io,” Reaper replied. “My call sign is Reaper.”

The Admiral looked confused for a moment. “What the hell is a ‘raptor’?”

“Please excuse me for one moment, Sir,” Reaper asked. “Io, this is Reaper, Command and Control secured. Objective secured."

Elapsed mission time; three minutes, twenty seconds. One minute longer than projected.

Since the Titan’s assault was still underway, (the objectives had chronologically overlapped) Reaper’s announcement did not end the Raptor Mission. End of Mission was filed when Titan completed his objectives, resulting in an overall elapsed mission time of nine minutes, forty-nine seconds. Five minutes, eleven seconds under projected mission time.

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eaper ordered the command staff to be removed to the station detention area, but asked that the Admiral be allowed to remain for the time being. Sitting in the command briefing room, Belirus looked at the two Raptor team members.

This whole idea of a Raptor team was terrifying. Did Goya and his people here really create such a team? To Belirus, it was further proof that Goya and the rest of High Command were completely insane.

“Major, you said you thought you could prove I’ve been lied to. Whatever you have planned better be damned convincing,” the man replied.

Reaper nodded. “I can understand that, Sir. As for my proof, I would like to have your own ship’s engineers reconnect your ships AI. Once that’s completed, I would like you to question him or her, as to the history of this sector,” Reaper explained. “Be sure to precede your request by instructing the AI to use current onboard data only, and not to request any information from any other data source.”

Belirus thought about that for a moment and nodded agreement. “He was taken off line in case we needed to engage in combat here. The information he has in memory would predate my own, so I can see what you are trying to do. What if he confirms my information, and not yours?”

“Then I will order the crew released, surrender myself and my team to you for prosecution,” Reaper replied. “I am willing to bet that he has never even heard of Sol Sector."

Belirus nodded, but asked. “How many of my crew were killed?” In the few short minutes since the team secured his ship, Belirus had come to realize that this man truly believed he was on the side of right in this mess. The Admiral could tell he was trustworthy, and honorable.

Reaper sighed. “Sir, I regret to inform you that we lost one of your crewmen during the forced landing in Alpha Bay. He was simply too close to the ship when the Titan emitted its stun pulse, and it overloaded his brain. At least, he didn't feel pain.”

Belirus nodded. “Who else?”

“That’s it, Sir, we managed to stun everyone else. We really wanted to make it as bloodless as possible, but accidents like what happened in Alpha Bay are sometimes unavoidable,” Reaper explained regrettably.

“You mean to tell me, you took my entire ship with only one fatality?” Surely his Marines had to have at least put up enough of a resistance to result in some casualties.

“Sir, this is what we are trained to do. If you had been an enemy ship that we didn’t have override codes for, there would have been hundreds of casualties. As it was, we tried to do it without hurting anyone. After speaking to you, I'm damn glad we went to the extremes we did to make sure of it.” Reaper explained. “I would have seriously regretted killing people over something as stupid as this misunderstanding is."