Part one of Chapter 10.
Chapter 10: The Battle of Hawys.
Ducis Das.
The troops had been searching for a few hours now. How could it be so hard to pinpoint an escaped convicts tag, Das had asked Dux Boaz. Very, apparently the supposed “long” life battery was running low and the signalling beacon was difficult to find on the radar when its battery was almost gone. It can’t be much longer no, Das thought. He had spoken to Rex Vons himself and if they hadn’t found him by the time he arrived, there would be hell to pay.
“Boaz, ETA with the Rex” Das murmured into his handset.
“Within the hour Sir. I’ve sent a small shuttle to wait for his arrival and the crew will alert me when he has-WE’VE GOT HIM SIR!”
The change in tone was so unexpected the Ducis nearly jumped.
“Where?”
“He’s in the deepest forestation. The closest units are about 15 kilometres from his position.”
“Good work Dux. Download the coordinates to all units and have them surround the position with a 5 kilometre radius. Have them await further instructions there.”
“Yes Ducis. Over and out.”
Looking out over the rainforest horizon through the surveillance glass, Das already saw countless soldiers, Hiru tanks and Deryn aircraft head in a north-easterly direction demolishing all vegetation in its way.
You’re trapped now, Das thought, and there’s nowhere for you to run.
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Meanwhile, inside the command center, it was a frenzy of soldiers and engineers running outside of the base with the little armour they had to spare whilst the women and children headed to the docking area where they would board one of several small transports as was the evacuation procedure. In the control room however, it was eerily calm. A dozen Braxton bureaucrats were bent over their computers co-ordinating the flurry of activity around the base. Standing on a high balcony with Hoce at his side, Rex Jic observed the evacuation with the huge screen that covered the far northern wall from the floor to the ceiling.
“Percentage of civilians inside transports” Shouted Jic into the group.
“46% and still rising sir.” Shouted back an answer.
“How many troops are around the perimeter?”
“A couple of hundred but it won’t be enough”
“I know. Hoce and I are going to the hangars to oversee the evacuation. “Mola take control of the situation”
“Yes Rex”
Mola was Jixs personal AI. She had chosen Hawys for the hideout and had co-ordinated the survival of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike. She could take control from small drones to large capital ships, henceforth she was a valuable asset to Jic.
“Mola, arm the cannon. I’m afraid we may need it. Oh and keep a firm track on the Caedmon, and if it or any other spacecraft move let me know.”
“Aye sir. Priming the ion cannon.”
With an escort that was quickly shooed to the perimeter walls Jic and Hoce entered the hangar. It was a huge space and contained two of the four evacuation ships that were being boarded by frantic civilians. The two hurried up the ramp and took an elevator up to the bridge were the Captain was on edge, ready to take off at a moments notice. Jic knew the people on board would be taking seats all over the ship and strapping in. The canteen wouldn’t be open yet, not until they had safely left the system and Das behind.
“Rex, we are detecting a large concentration of Hiru approaching from the North, and several Deryn squads from the east. They are 7 kilometres away from our command centre and closing in on us fast. The troops are alerted and setting up defensive positions. With your permission, I would like to initiate the final stage of the evacuation procedure.”
Jic did not respond immediately. The final stage meant panic. It meant the withdrawal of all personnel and locking down the base. It meant activating the self-destruct sequence as a last ditch attempt to ward off intruders. It may, however, save them. Jic reached to his piece and muttered
“Initiate”.
“Yes Sir. I should let you know; the Caedmon is dropping out of orbit and approaching our base. I believe it is planning an aerial bombardment.”
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Dux Boaz sat in the sturdy Captains seat aboard the Caedmon and finished the conversation with the Ducis.
“Descending into the atmosphere now Ducis.”
“Good, alert me when the bombardment is complete and I will begin the ground assault.”
Das’ image left the hologram and was replaced by an exterior rotating view of Hawys. The bridge was a flurry of activity as the weapons stations powered up the high strength lasers designed for capital ship engagement and pointed them towards the ground, primed to melt the metallic frame. In the hangars, 30 tonne bombs were moving into place as they would destroy the heavy concrete bunkers whilst flammable containers were hanging out the underside of the Caedmon, ready to incinerate any beings unfortunate to be caught in the wave of searing heat. It was hard to believe a ground attack would still be necessary but rebels were unpredictable, as Boaz had learnt the hard way from an assault against the scum when they had ordered their ships to crash into the Caedmon to stall more time for the escape.
“The base will come into view in 1 minute Dux”
“Good. All lasers are to prime to maximum and have the bombs prepared to drop. Deplete the shield by a third and divert the power to our reactors, I want every weapons system powered to its full.”
“Beginning now Dux.”
The ship thrummed as the reactors gained their juice and heated with the extra fuel. A large base greeted them over the horizon, its steely grey exterior stuck out from the plush green radius of overgrowth. There may be several smaller structures scattered around the area but the base was the target, for now at least.
“Dux I am detecting no soldiers or civilians on the exterior of the base. They are either unaware of our presence or do not wish to fight.”
“The latter I think. Can you blame them, for this armada we possess? However we do not accept their surrender, as it is too late and we are deaf to the pleas. Begin bombardment in…”
Alarms surrounded the Dux and warning lights erupted on the front desks. The holographic Hawys disappeared to show the ships AI.
“Incoming projectile directly North. Impact in 10 seconds. Suggest evasive action.”
“Do it now” Boaz commanded.
“Turning hard port now.”
The Caedmon shifted left sharply, sending all standing crew flying into glass at the other end of the ship. Equipment that wasn’t firmly nailed down followed them but the glass held. It rotated a full 45 degrees sending more of the crew into disarray.
“Negligible effect of evasive manoeuvres. Impact in three...two...one”
A jolt sent Boaz flying from his chair as the projectile hit the starboard hangars and kept on rising. A large boom announced detonations and from the sounds down below, they were the unstable bombs which quickly explode and cause immense damage to the hangars and halls alike. The falling incendiary devices set alight many Braxton who ran to extinguish the flames losing their sense of co-ordination temporarily before dropping and rolling onto the floor. It had no effect as the scaly skin was burnt clean off and the heavy bones began to char. The over-productive reactors were the target of the missile and as it slammed into them from beneath and it detonated several small EMP charges to dissolve the protective shield. Reactors were unstable at the best of times and the direct hit caused them to vaporize the lower decks and short wire all the electronic equipment on the ship. Lights and lasers blinked out and the sudden loss of mass caused the Caedmon to roll out of control, falling at a dangerous speed over the rebel base and crash onto the surface, skidding several miles to a stop. Hundred of birds flew into the air to avoid the now-still cruiser.
In the dark bridge, Boaz rose from the floor and immediately regretted it. His rib cage was smashed and right arm dislocated from the heavy impact. Ignoring his pain he saw his crew rise from the debris with similar injuries. The ground shook pulling Boaz to the floor, but he resisted it and punched his way from the glass wall. A few kilometres away, the forest had folded away to reveal a large gaping hole in the ground. A deafening rumble emerged quickly followed by 4 full-sized transports heading vertically up and out of the atmosphere. The Dux knew were he had gone wrong; he had made the stereotypical Braxton mistake. He had been too rash and bloodthirsty; by hastening to kill he had given the enemy the advantage of surprise. And now with the Caedmon permanently out of action, there were no ships in Jic’s exit path. He would get away again.
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