Star Crusades by Michael Thomas (best ereader for pc txt) 📕

they could do little more than harass the enemy asthe ships crashed through the formation. Some intentionally slammedinto the transports, causing heavy damage or even destroying themas they pulled away. The Ski’lig ships didn’t escape unscathed, yetstill they came on, doing whatever it took to cripple theships.

He looked to the Rift, but heknew no help would be coming. It would take another week for shipsfrom the Helios sector to be redeployed. That meant he would haveto strip ships from the shipyards overthe still unfinished Yorkdale Naval Station.

“Put me on with the Admiral, andfast.”

We need more ships.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Cavern, Ekati Alpha, The Ski’ligTerritories

Valentine opened her eyes and letthe cool air wash over her face. Ittasted strange, and her suit’s filters struggled to keep it clear,but for just those few minutes it was worth it. She took a sip oflukewarm water from the feed tube and leaned back against the rockwall of the site the marines had christened, The Cavern. Some ofthe other Novas had done the same, and even the marines wereenjoying short breaks of cool air before being required to pullback their helmets.

“Nice piece,” said Hawkins.

Henodded towards the rifle resting against her leg. It was a heavilymodified L48, with a large cooling shroud over the front barrel, aswell as its sights removed. The thing was very sleek and muchstronger than the standard weapon. It also carried a slightlycurved box magazine.

“Yeah, a gift from the IAB. One of their Jötnar saw my knackeredguns and threw this at me.”

She lifted her right hand where themachine pistol assembly had been smashed.

“It’sold school. I thought the L48 was only used by specialistsnow.”

“And by me it seems.”

She lifted the weapon and examined it with interest. The grey housing wasmarked, but it still didn’t look anywhere as old as it should havebeen.

“That’s not a marine’s weapon,”laughed Captain Olik as he walked past.Valentine looked up as he headed towards the throng of officersclustered around battlefield computers.

“What is it, then?”

“That’s half a Thumper!”

“Whoa,” said Kallias,“For real?”

Valentine held it up in front of her and turned it around for a closerlook.

“The housing is bigger,and the shroud could be for cooling andfor use in hand-to-hand combat.”

“Yeah,and that mag,” said Hawkins, “That’s a lot bigger than normal.Double capacity I’d say.”

Valentine lifted it up, and thenactivated the weapon. It was still safe,but now connected directly to her armour, and to Tex.

LX48S. Modified fire support rifle forheavy robotics and Jötnar units. Standard dual forty round roundsand integrated serrated fighting blade on the lower housing.

“Dammit,” said Hawkins,“Where’s mine?”

“Go and talk to theJötnar. Maybe they will donate one to you. Afterall, four guns clearly aren’t enough for you.”

“The others laughed, and for amoment they were able to enjoy a brief few minutes of quiet. The Cavern, as they called it was hardly anoriginal name, and like most of the other locations on the planethad been named purely for its looks. The other Novas were doingmuch the same as the marines continued to shackle their newprisoners. Most were the forced labourers, but there were also morethan a dozen Ski’ligs, each of which hissed and emitted strangehigh-pitched sounds whenever they tried to speak with them. Theywere deep underground now, and according to her sensors, it waseven colder here than it had been on the surface when they’d firstlanded.

“Can somebody explainhow we’re breathing down here?” Hawkinsasked.

Kallias shrugged.

“It’s warmer down here, and don’t dronescans show heavy industry further down? There must be equipmentdeep inside this rock.”

“Maybe. It’s still weird though, right, Val?”

“Oh…you’re notwrong. I’ve never heard of a place quitelike this. But don’t forget the green stuff. It’s working with theenvironment, and if I had to guess, I’d say it plays a part increating the air down here. Without our life support systems, itwould still not be enough. But for other creatures this isdefinitely a liveable environment.”

There was a silence again until Hawkinsbroke it with yet another mundane point.

“So after all this, ourvictory looks like this. I imaginedstanding on top of a fortress waving a battle flag. Not sitting inthe cold surrounded by prisoners.”

“That’s because you’re an idiot,”said Kallias, “This is a mining world.It’s not exactly Terra Nova, is it?”

That caught Valentine’sattention. She thought about the planet, or at least whatthey had seen so far.

“Wait a second,”she said, thinking aloud, “That kind ofmakes me wonder where their homeworld is? Surely they don’t live ona mine?”

“Then why are we here?”Hawkins asked.

“Because it’s the only inhabitedplanet in this entire star system,dumbass. That’s why.”

“Still, this place is kind of impressive,” said Alexis, “It musthave taken years to do this.”

She looked upand out to the massive cavern in front ofthem. It was a colossal space cut into the heart of the planet,with smaller shafts and tunnels heading dozens of kilometres offbelow them. One particular side was curved like a crescent moon androse hundreds of metres above them, and cut into the rock weresteps, as well as rungs, and even metal railings.

“I wantto know what’s over there,” said Hawkins.

He nodded to the leftwhere a series of paths were cut into the rock,narrow bridges, and fragile causeways worked their way over a deeptrench cut deep into the rock itself. The shaft worked its wayhorizontally through the planet and vanished many kilometres intothe distance. High above it were a number of perches and monitoringstations that hung from thick chains.

“I tell you what this is,” saidValentine, “And it’s nothing pretty. Thisright here is the heart of a slave mine. I bet before we arrived itwas teeming with tens of thousands of slave workers, all watchedover by Ski’ligs circling overhead.”

“And now they’ve allgone to ground. Maybe they’re not as tough as weall thought they were.”

“Maybe. Or maybe they’re a lot smarter and know when to fight, andwhen to flee.”

She looked off into themassive caverns that riddled the place.Even with the limited scanning data from other marines, and thereconnaissance drones that had been sent out, it was clear theplace was much bigger than expected.

“I’m starting to wonder if thisplace is something much more important than we thought. What if the Skils are right below us andcloser