Ancient Hunter
Chapter 64

With the landing zone secure we could move on to the next phase of the operation. Surveying my surroundings I realised how open the bay was. There was no cover and with the hanger doors missing open to space. It felt odd moving about in the silence of a vacuum. Denassi opened the exterior storage of the shuttle and pulled out a large metal case with wheels. It was nearly as long as he was and as half again as wide. It was on four wheels. I thinking it was remote controlled as it moved when he did. I was still that much of an Imperial that it gave me the shivers to see it do that. But I had to focus on the mission.

“Denassi?” I asked him anxious to get moving.

“I need my toys.” he replied.

It put me in mind of the Valkyrie adage if its yours then you carry it. I turned my attention to Freyhilda and her squad. She was poised awaiting my command.

“Move out sergeant. I was aware we were on a time limit. I adjusted my holo chronometer to send me a reminder as to when we were on half our time. I hoped I didn’t have to do that. I also wished that the rest of the ship wasn’t depressurised and we had air. We hurried across the bay to the airlock. As I approached my heart fell there was no power to the airlock. We’d been stymied at the first hurdle. Denassi steered his wheeled case to the airlock and opened a panel in the side of it pulling out a box with a hexagonal protrusion on one side. He placed it on a hollow beside the airlock and pressed a button on it.

“Stand back!” he warned us. We took up defensive positions as the airlock door inched open. There was no out rush of air, which alarmed me. It was going to be a very short mission otherwise. We on had a limited amount of air before we had to retreat and we had a long way to go.

Entering the airlock I looked around there was no power to the inner door. This made our way forward even the more precarious. The airlock was large enough to accommodate us all and then some. Denassi closed the outer door with his device before moving onto the inner door. I heard the rush of air as the door started to open. The HUD in my helmet told me the air was breathable. I felt a sudden surge of relief I wasn’t going to have to cut the mission short. Now if we only had a way of reaching our objective sooner. Freyhilda’s squad poured through the door as soon as it was open enough. They took up defensive positions facing up and down the dimly lit corridor outside the airlock. I noted that the walls were unfinished and a little rusty. I turned my attention back to my team.

“Sergeant Hollen take point.” I glanced at Denassi. “Direction?”

Denassi looked at his comms then looked away. “We’ve lost comms.”

I immediately checked my comms. It said no service I noted the others do the same.

“Same here,” Jervic stated.

Our combat armour servos were working and my helmet HUD was active. So whatever it was only affecting the comms. “We’re being jammed?” I directed my question at Denassi.

“Yes,” he replied and grimaced. “I’ve lost control of my box of tools.”

Which meant he’d have to be pulling his own case. I didn’t have anyone to help him we would have to concentrate of defence,

I considered my options as limited as they were. “Sergeant Hollen spit up your squad, two take point. Two our rear and the rest act as backup for either the front or the rear?” I hoped that I’d got the situation right. I was more used to going it on my own. The Valkyrie expected it the way especially the Silver Guard.

“On it ma’am!” Freyhilda said with a salute.

I wondered if I had over done it but realised she was just following military protocol.

“Hlomadra, Vahildr take point. Frialmold and Rodrifa take the rear, Skugrdrifa you’re with me.” Freyhilda nodded in my direction. “We’re ready ma’am.”

That still didn’t answer which direction we needed to go in. I had a gut feeling that I’d find answers to where the Keepers were from here. I didn’t know how I knew that but the feeling was there.

“Directions Denassi?” I felt a slight pull down and to the left a faint trace that called to me. But I didn’t address how I would get there. Nor did it seem to be the way to our objective. We had a task to complete but without comms I didn’t even know if any of the other teams had landed or even if they were on their way to objectives either.

“Luckily I prepared for this occasion,” Denassi said opening up his case and pulling out a number of printouts.

They were flexible plastic sheets transparent and thin.

He gave everyone one. “These are magnetic they should stick to your armour?”

I examined the printout confused. I was expecting a conventional map but was a series of numbers and symbols I couldn’t make head nor tail of it. “What’s this?” I waved my printout at him.

“These are the deck numbers. The symbols are zones and the arrows and the direction of travel. The crosses and ‘T’s indicate junctions.”

I stared a printout hoping someone besides Denassi could make sense of it. “Head out!” I commanded. It wasn’t like we had a choice in the matter.

We moved forward it was slow going having to do a sweep at every corner and every junction.

Finally we reached a massive blast door and typical to this mission closed. There was nothing to tell us what was on the other side or even if it had atmosphere. I pondered what to do next and we crouched just off the side of it. I couldn’t see a way past. The only other route was a couple of hundred metres behind us. More delays I wondered if any of the other teams were facing the same difficulties we were.

“We’ll have to find a way around!” I hissed angry at the delays.

Denassi stood and walked up to a panel beside the door he took a few moments before pressing a button on the panel. “No need!”

I felt stupid for not thinking the obvious and assuming the blast doors were unpowered. The door slid open to reveal a short corridor flanked by two doors and more alarming it ended in a void.

“Wait here!” I ordered my team and crept to the edge of void. In the murky distance I could see where the corridor started again. I looked down the sights my Coil Assault Gun. The little HUD of the gun stated that the corridor was two hundred metres away.

“Someone tell why this void is here?” I said aloud. It wasn’t making any sense.

“That’s the magazine for the main railgun.” Denassi said.

I glanced back at him then at the void in front of me.

“That’s an ammo hoist. How big are the shells for the railgun?” Freyhilda sounded as shocked as I felt about it. She’d asked the question I had been about to ask.

Like the rest of the ship we’d seen this was an exercise in stupidity, “Stupid!” I said.

“The main gun was dubbed the ‘Planet Cracker’.” Denassi informed me.

“Shit I can see why!” Jervic remarked.

I had a chilling thought. If this weapon was ever used? I shuddered at that. No world would be safe and no fleet would be able to stop it. Our objective was clear. We had to stop this ship from ever becoming active. There was no doubt in my mind that none of the ships we had here could ever make a dent in the hull. We had to prevent it from ever leaving and that could only be done from the inside.

I turned to Denassi and asked. “How do we get across?”

Denassi walked across to a panel beside the void. The front of the panel was hanging by a wire the rest of them looked as if they’d been ripped out.

“I think I can bypass the worst of it,” he said. He fiddled with the wire leaping back as there was a spark.

I edged closer to him. “Anything?”

“It looks like these wires were torn out?”

Confirming my earlier assessment. “So we find another way around?” I wasn’t looking forward to doing that. I turned to Freyhilda who was watching our rear.

“Check these side doors?”

I waited while the squad did a recon. One door led to an unpowered elevator the other to a set of stairs that vanished into the darkness below. It seemed that the stairs were our only option. I checked Denassi’s confusing map and got no sense out of it. I guessed that it would to an Ezaran but we weren’t Ezaran.

“Denassi?” I called out. He was still messing about with the broken panel.

“Almost got it!” he called back.

There was a loud echoing squeal as a bridge started to extend. I went on alert at the sound noticing the rest of my team and Freyhilda’s squad do the same. I gripped my Coil Assault Gun ready for action. We were exposed there was no cover except for the two doors but there wasn’t enough cover for all of us. It was tense as the bridge crawled out across the void. A second part of the bridge extended itself from the other side. There was a clang as they met in the centre. I held up my hand and flashed the signal to hold, glad that I had at least learned Marine hand signals. The wait gave me time to examine the bridge thoroughly. I found it kind of reminded me of the bridge between Bondedottir and Svertingdottir territory. That had been crowded with refugees and like this bridge had no railings.

“I thought it was only the Valkyrie that didn’t believe in railings?” I said sarcastically and drew a deep breath. “Right we’ll have to take this carefully.” I turned to Freyhilda a plan forming. “Sergeant Hollen send two of your squad across to secure the other side of the bridge. We’ll give them covering fire if necessary?”

“Yes ma’am,” Freyhilda replied and pointed. “Frialmold, Rodrifa get your butts across and secure the other side. I want a clean sweep no sloppy work. Mother Gwen will be watching.”

I hadn’t wanted her to add that last bit. I watched as both Marines skirted across the bridge and took up positions on the other side. I breathed a sigh of relief seeing Frialmold signal it was clear.

“Jervic and Kelli you are next,” I told them.

“Aye ma’am,” Jervic said and he and Kelli crossed the bridge.

I turned back to Freyhilda and the rest of her squad. “You and the remainder of your squad are next. Your task is to guard Denassi and his case.” I was a bit worried about that order since they were Valkyrie and he was a male.

“On it Mother Gwen,” Freyhilda told me. A subtle reminder that these Valkyrie were classing me as the Clan Mother of the Landottir Clan.

“I take the rear and follow you once you are across.”

Freyhilda saluted and led her squad across Denassi in amongst them wheeling his case. Then as I was just about to cross I heard a distant noise like something thudding it was growing louder by the second.

“Alert!” I shouted slowly backing over the bridge. I realised I was between my team and what was coming. I knelt and sighted down the sight of my Coil Assault Gun. Even with the enhanced vision from my helmet I couldn’t make out what it was. Whatever it was it was moving faster than anything I’d encountered.

“Weapons free!” I called out taking a combat stance. I knew I’d never get across the bridge before whatever it was got here. In the moments it had taken me to call out the thing resolved into a creature. Like the ones that attacked the Valorous Star.

As my finger tightened on the trigger I hesitated this creature had Landottir DNA, my DNA. The sound of bullets ripping past me broke me out of my paralysation. I fired, the whine of my Coil Assault Gun sounding loud in my ears as my bullets hit the creature. It faltered a hundred metres from me. I pulled out my now empty magazine and was about to slam in a second when another creature burst out from the stairwell. It was on me before I could switch weapons. With a mighty swipe of it’s claw had me flying over the edge of the bridge. I had all the wind knocked out of me. I remember falling and hitting my head then everything went dark.

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