Ep.#14 - "The Weak and the Innocent" (The Frontiers Saga) by Ryk Brown Page A

crew chief announced over their helmet comms. “ Starting depress! ”
    “ Ghatazhak! ” Master Sergeant Jahal barked. “ Stand ready! ”
    All twenty-four men stood along either side ofthe cargo shuttle. The space was already a tight fit for its standard load of twenty soldiers in full space battle gear, let alone for the twenty-six that were currently on board.
    “ Thirty seconds! ” the crew chief shouted as he reached for the door controls. “ Ramp, coming down! ”
    There was a gust of air as the last of the cargo jump shuttle’s cabin pressure was sucked out the back of the ship. The rear loading ramp pivoted outward and downward on its hinges, quickly turning into an extension of the cargo shuttle’s deck that protruded a good three meters aft.
    “ Five seconds! Eyes tight! ” the copilot called over the comms.
    Commander Telles closed his eyes tightly as he waited for the jump, the flash burning through his eyelids as a brief yet intense orange glow.
    “ Jump complete! ”
    Commander Telles opened his eyes, looking down the narrow corridor between the two rows of men into the black void beyond.
    “ Go, go, go! ” came the call from the cockpit.
    The two Ghatazhak soldiers closest to the rear of the shuttle jogged briskly out toward the end of the ramp, with the eleven other pairs following close behind. Two by two, the soldiers stepped off the end of the ramp, firing tiny thrusters and spreading out in all directions as they floated freely behind the shuttle. Within seconds, all twenty-six men were drifting a few meters behind the cargo shuttle, their distance from the ship increasing by only a meter per minute.
    Commander Telles and Master Sergeant Jahal were the last ones off the shuttle’s ramp. The commander looked down at the control stick sitting on a small arm protruding from the left side of the maneuvering pack encircling his waist just below his backpack. “ Rotate, ” he ordered calmly. He grasped the stick and gave it a tiny twist to the right, causing his rotation thrusters to briefly fire. His body rotated around quickly, bringing into view the back of the cargo jump shuttle they had just left. Behind it was the massive Jung battleship, without power and adrift on the outer edges of the Tau Ceti system. Another tiny twist of his control stick in the opposite direction stopped his rotation as easily as it had started.
    The rest of his men also fired their thrusters, bringing them around to face their direction of flight. The cargo shuttle in front of them fired its own thrusters, translating quickly upward, revealing the gaping hole in the side of the massive enemy ship only a few hundred meters ahead of them. Several of its guns were still pointed directly at them, as if daring them to drift closer. But they did not move.
    “ Eyes tight again, gentlemen, ” the copilot called over the comms. “ Good luck. ”
    The shuttle disappeared in a flash of light from behind them, leaving the twenty-six soldiers gliding rapidly toward the crippled Jung battleship.
    “ Damn, you sure those guns are dead, sir? ” one of his men inquired.
    “ If they weren’t, you wouldn’t be able to ask that question, ” the master sergeant replied.
    Commander Telles examined the nearby hull with his tactical scanners, searching for any threats. His display showed that his men had properly spaced themselves out to ensure that everyone would make contact with the hull of the target at a different point. “ Two hundred meters, ” he announced as they continued coasting toward the battleship. Even at this distance, the enemy ship was all they could see in their visors without turning their heads, and it was getting bigger with each passing second. “ Picking up some activity aft of the target area, ” the commander added. “ Low-level energy systems, exterior, mostly. ”
    “ Static charges left on the hull, maybe? ” Master Sergeant Jahal guessed. “ Left over from Scout Three’s jump, perhaps?