Star Force: Death Knell (SF26) Read online

  The Archon held up a ‘wait’ hand as she finished her conversation with her fellow Archons, then turned around to look up at the towering Calavari. “I assume you heard?”

  “The gravity zone extended.”

  “And intensified,” Morgan added. “The original zone amped up too.”

  “Of this I am also aware. Several hundred of my men are unaccounted for, but our techs have located the source of the gravity,” he said, pointing towards the center of the crater. “Down there is the generator that feeds the emitters that run throughout the ship. If we can capture it we can reset the gravity to normal and proceed with the conquest of the ship.”

  Morgan frowned inside her helmet. “Are you sure it’s the only one? Our gravity fields are modular. All they need is a power feed.”

  “As do ours, but the Nestafar technology is designed differently. The gravity effect is produced in a single location and reflected out through conduits to the specified chambers, then amplified within containment fields. My techs also say that they don’t think the jumpship has enough power to raise the gravity everywhere, unless they were able to tie in their gravity drives. They believe the rings are a mechanism to force us into a smaller area of the ship where they can crush us.”

  “Not so fast…where are they hiding at? We find them and we find a safe place to fight it out with the bastards.”

  “I have many teams in combat with the enemy now,” the Calavari commander stated oddly, as if he was nervous but not wanting to show it.

  “Then I suggest shifting all your men into those areas and clearing out of any region with raised gravity. If they pump up another ring we can’t have our people caught up in it.”

  “A delaying tactic,” Maka’var pronounced. “We have to get to the gravity generator…which is where I suspect most of their troops will be deployed in defensive lines,” he said, producing a small hologram from a handheld device that pinpointed the target building for Morgan to see.

  “We need to scout it first,” Morgan said, looking back out over the expanse and putting an approximate waypoint on her battlemap. “They could have another gravity ring around the center to keep us away. Or they could be lying in wait as you suggested. We need to find out before we commit your men.”

  “My thoughts exactly. You will lead my team?”

  “Happy to.”

  The Calavari motioned from behind him and a heavy combat team walked out of the ‘interior’ of the ship in pairs. “Move quickly, Human. The enemy has the advantage on us.”

  Morgan clapped him on the lower elbow then turned and ran out over the edge of the platform she’d been standing at the back of. She dropped down to the next one below her and caught herself in a crouch before walking forward to make room for the Calavari, who slid over the edge, clinging by the arms for a moment then dropping a couple meters to the ground to lessen the impact. As they came down Morgan moved up to the next drop off and repeated the maneuver, heading down the angle of the enormous crater’s wall with it gradually shallowing out.

  The inset platforms ceased a few hundred meters down, replaced by pillars and walls in a maze-like plain with wide gaps between each other. The purpose of the area escaped Morgan, who otherwise would have thought it to be a training area, given the layout. Regardless, they got a third of the way to the central buildings before the Nestafar appeared, popping up over top of the erratic walls and firing down on them from altitude as they hovered about on their muscular, flapping wings.

  The Calavari took cover behind Morgan and started sniping them out of the air with their rifles while absorbing a few hits on their shields, but the Archon chose to barrel forward, ducking in and out of the passageways as she raced ahead behind and underneath her shield, penetrating deep into the Nestafar lines as they continued to rise up into the air, dozens strong at first, then hundreds. Morgan eventually came up to some that were still on the ground and finally began firing her weapon, shooting those closest first, then aiming up at the feet of the others flying overhead.

  As she was doing so she heard the call from the other Archons indicating that a third ring of gravity had just popped up, with the second also having vaulted up into the 10+ g range after a short reconnaissance run. Macer-8291 hadn’t pressed more than a few meters inside the zone, let alone traveled across the length of it to see what the gravity rating was now in the first zone. Morgan knew she could walk across a 10 g area, at least she thought she could, but knew the others weren’t as strong as her. If she had to bet she’d give them a slight edge, but there was no point in risking it for a simple recon…unless the gravity had decreased on the far side.

  Damn it…if she was back there then she might have tried, but there was no way she was ordering or even suggesting the others try. And there was no way the Calavari could make it. Their high mass was to their disadvantage in this case, while Morgan’s petite musculature would make her more adept to handle the multiplication effect of the higher gravity. The other Archons were similarly better off than the Calavari, but Morgan still had the greatest strength/weight ratio of them all, and it wasn’t by a small margin either.

  Only way to fix this now was to get to the gravity generator…which meant beating their way through these troops, no matter how many of them there were.

  “Everyone listen up,” Morgan yelled into her comm as she ducked, dodged, and fired her plasma pistol up at the Nestafar with dozens of red plasma blobs coming back down at her, some of which she blocked with her already divotted shield. “Either track the Nestafar teams back to a safe zone or get your asses down to the center of the ship. We have to take the gravity generator offline and, guess what, looks like this is where they have most of their troops.”

  “Morgan, run to portside, now!” Ian ordered. “I’ve got eyes on your position and the Nestafar are playing with more than infantry. You’ve got walkers incoming.”

  “Oh, shit!” she said, ducking down a side passage that was likewise unroofed. She switched her comm over to the frequency of her Calavari assault team. “Fall back, fall back,” she said as she ran, shooting around her shield as the infantry stalked her from above. “Walkers incoming. Get to cover…somewhere,” she urged, beginning to hear the heavy foot strikes behind her.

  Suddenly there was a flash of red behind her back as bright as the sun, then it was gone a moment later with the distinctive crackle/zap sound of plasma impacting matter.

  “Damn it,” Ian swore. “Your team just got roasted. Run Morgan, I mean it! You’ve got to get the angle of the walls above its firing line.”

  “What’s shooting me?” she asked, dumping her damaged shield and sprinting through the passageways as fast as she could, keeping to the side as much as possible to block infantry firing lines, though knowing that running port would expose her to the walker, so she darted off fore and aft as often as possible to mix things up.

  “A super dragon, so move your ass, girl!”

  “Guide me!” she pleaded, taking a shot to her back that hit her equipment pack.

  “Angle aft, that should block direct lines. It’s oriented slightly to your right with the layout of most of the rows.”

  “Infantry?”

  “They’re coming out of everywhere, but most in the air are behind you…no, wait, duck now! Incoming!” he said as the super dragon fired again.

  Morgan jammed herself up against the bottom of one of the walls and pulled herself into a lump as the plasma raced over her head. The heat plume soaked through her armor and warmed her skin, then bits of melted wall started falling down on top of her as the bang of impact numbed her ears despite her helmet’s protection. She glanced up a moment later and saw that most of the wall above her head was gone, as were three to her right where the plasma had cut straight through.

  “Damn it,” she yelled, jumping up and sprinting over pieces of wall as they resolidified into clumps on the floor. Reaching back she detached her pack, dropping the backpack full of supplies and the weapon rack, keeping only the
pistol in her hand and her jump pack on. Immediately feeling lighter she raced down the hall, ducked left for a few steps, then sprinted again down an angled corridor that should have visually blocked her from the giant machine that she didn’t waste time turning around to look at.

  “Tell me when it’s going to shoot.”

  “It’s twisting now…ready…ready…duck!” he said, guessing based on its movements when it had her locked in, which was tricky to do even with practice.

  Morgan didn’t duck. Instead he jabbed her jump pack onto full and put as much power into her legs as possible, then leapt up above the flanking walls just before the red plasma streak came in. Its thermal shockwave propelled her up even further, shooting the Archon several stories high before she dialed back the power and started a controlled fall, trying to aim for one of the wall tops.

  She came down at an angle but managed to stay up top, then with a twist of her foot began running along the top of the wall for several steps before jumping again, this time less high, knowing that her capacitor hadn’t had time to fully recharge.

  Morgan landed in between walls this time, then took off sprinting erratically, using her superhuman speed and agility to try and lose her pursuit as she got further and further away from the stationary walker.

  “You’re clear,” Ian said, prompting Morgan to come to a skidding halt and nestle down near the base of the wall on her left.

  “What’s…it doing now?” she asked, a bit out of breath.

  “Another ring just went up,” Seth said, worry in his voice. “They’re driving us to the interior.”

  “Where are their teams heading?” Morgan asked.

  “Same place,” Carver answered. “We just followed them to the edge of the chamber, then they took off flying as soon as they could. They’re leading us to slaughter. I can see 14 walkers from my position, and they’re tall enough to step over the walls.”

  “That or face the gravity,” Ian agreed. “You think it goes higher than 10?”

  Before he could answer Maka’var’s voice cut through on the shared Alliance comm channel. “All units, be aware. The high gravity zones are forcing us to the center of the ship where the Nestafar have an army waiting for us. Beyond that army is the gravity generator, where we must go if we are to survive. The only chance we have is to rush their lines in the hope that some of us will make it through. Their walkers can’t target us all, but we must make a simultaneous attack if we are going to succeed. I hereby order all troops to the edge of the central chamber, there you are to wait in cover until I give the order or until the gravity forces us into the open. Move quickly, we have little time left.”

  “Morgan?” Ian asked.

  “I’m already halfway to the generator and I’ve got my jump pack.”

  “Do you know where it is?”

  “More or less.”

  “Then hurry, you’ve got a couple spiders coming up on your position from the far side.”

  “Use your best judgment,” Morgan said apologetically.

  “Quit wasting time and go save our asses,” Ian urged, understanding.

  “I’m heading back,” Rev-5901 said on the Archon-only channel. “If there’s a way out I’ll let you know.”

  “Lose the armor,” Ian suggested.

  “Already stripping,” the Archon said, no merriment in his voice. “I’ll be off comm until I get back to my helmet.”

  “Good luck,” Eriona offered. “I’m going to stay put and snipe as many infantry as I can. Maybe clear a road for some of the Calavari to get through.”

  “Think some of us should make a run for it?” Carver asked.

  “Morgan’s already there,” Ian said, dismissing the notion. “No point in facing down a mech if we don’t have to. Stay hidden along the edge, assist where we can, and retreat back into the gravity if necessary. I’m pretty sure their infantry won’t go back in there after us.”

  “Not sure how long we’ll last in 10g,” Eriona pointed out.

  “Long enough to reposition around the perimeter,” Ian said, determined to find some sliver of strategy to use. “Duck in and out and stay alive.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Eriona agreed, finding a decent sniping position and sighting in on the nearest flyers while conscious of the firing lines of the two giraffes closest to her position.

  “Alright, I’m down with that,” Seth agreed. “Morgan, time to show off.”

  “Trying,” she answered, hopping over three walls with a single jump, then coming down into cover and running off another direction before the enemy could spot her position, only to repeat the tactic again and again as she made her way closer towards the center.

  8

  Rev made his way back through the claustrophobic portion of the jumpship, coming into contact with the 2g ring far sooner than he anticipated. It slowed his run down to a jog, but he still maintained a rhythm up until the point where he crossed over the invisible line into the higher gravity ring. His legs crumpled under the enhanced weight, loaded upon him in a microsecond as he passed through the containment field between sections. His left wrist felt it first as it swung out in front of him, then it dragged his torso forward along with it, pitching him forward as the parts of his body ahead of the line were sucked down to the floor.

  The Archon managed to catch himself on his elbows and keep his face from hitting the ground, then he stayed there for a moment, fighting against the pull and letting his body and mind adapt to it…then, very slowly, he pulled his knees up underneath him and set his feet. Standing up felt like lifting a stack of weights, but he discovered it was something his body could handle and within a couple of minutes he was walking forward, searching for the back side of the ring and hoping it contained less gravity.

  He knew gravity generators were power hogs, and pulling this amount of gees across most of the ship should have been unfeasible…yet, then again, cranking up the generators this high also shouldn’t have been possible, according to the Calavari techs, yet somehow they were doing it.

  Time was against them, and Rev knew he had to hurry. If there was a safe zone on the opposite side he needed to find it for the others before they were forced into the center against that army. Good as they were he didn’t favor their odds, especially given that they had no escape plan other than killing all of the Nestafar…which, had it been infantry only, would have been a challenge worthy of an Archon, but having the walkers in play just made it downright unfair, especially if this gravity continued to advance and pin them down so the war machines could target them much easier.

  Guessing by the width of the 2g ring, Rev figured he was getting close to the back edge when he heard a joint pop in his knee. He stopped for a moment, wondering if it was damage or just a readjustment and settled on the latter, but the sound, along with the strain his entire body was under, was a vivid reminder that he had a time limit on his exploration. Determined as he was he kept going, trying to get a little more speed out of his awkward cadence when he passed through to the next ring and the top half of his body smacked down on the far side…in an even higher gravity field.

  His head hit hard and his brain felt like it was being squashed, but fortunately Rev remained conscious enough to crawl back out into the 10g field. His upper body was screaming and he saw several cracks in his skin that were oozing blood, all of which fueled his fear-induced adrenaline that let him find his balance again and begin walking back towards the center of the ship.

  If we don’t get that generator offline we’re dead, he though, unable to form the words in his mouth as he hurried as fast as he could to get back to the 2g area…but he wasn’t fast enough. 2/3rds of the way back the rings shifted again, bringing the crushing gravity zone down upon him in the blink of an eye.

  The Archon crumpled, bones dislocating as the higher gravity forced him down to the floor. Blood flowed from a number of points on his body, only to be sucked off and flattened into a very thin pool around him, spreading out to mark the spot of his dea
th that occurred sometime within the next 2 minutes…

  “Outer ring is here,” Ian reported as the gravity around the edge of the crater kicked up. “And the Calavari are going in.”

  Morgan held off commenting until she completed one final jump that landed her outside of the maze and between two of the buildings at crater center. “I’m inside the perimeter. Any infantry headed my way?”

  “Nope, they’re thoroughly distracted at the moment,” Ian said, firing his plasma rifle up at the cloud of flying Nestafar as thousands of Calavari charged down into the maze while the walkers targeted them with impunity. The enemy infantry also spread out, taking fire from the four-armed aliens, and began shooting down directly above them…yet staying high enough to give the walkers clean firing lines. The carnage was instant and widespread, but it appeared to Ian’s eye that they might have enough numbers to be able to push through into the center.

  “Keep me updated,” Morgan asked as she ran down the narrow street and up to an intersection, breaking a bit before she hit it out of reflex, then jumping forward into a dive-roll when she crossed a barricade on her right side filled with infantry. A half dozen plasma shots blanketed her armor before she crossed the intersection, but she didn’t turn to fight them. The Calavari were getting mowed down and she didn’t have time to waste so she pressed on, running past the opposition that she could and fighting through those that she couldn’t.

  One group was directly ahead of her, which she tried to jump over top of to save time…only to discover that her jump pack wasn’t working. That landed her right in the middle of a defensive blockade with nothing more than her pistol to fight with. She took a lot more damage getting through that mess, but get through it she did, then she headed further into the center where the gravity generator was marked on her HUD, knowing that it was an approximate position and that she would have to do some searching when she got there…and then find a way to take it out.