Free Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1) by Michael G. Thomas Page B

opening the
access hatch. Lieutenant Davies was first inside, closely followed
by more than a dozen of his comrades who had assembled near the CIC
before the incident.
    “ Follow me.
W e need to secure the habitation control
station. Potential hostiles in the area, so keep your eyes
open.”
    With those few
words, they disappeared into the blackness of the tunnel. Most
activated their suit-mounted lamps to send beams of yellow through
the dusty environment. The shaft led from the command decks down
past the many engineering levels. It seemed to take an age for the
silent and motionless group to reach the platform to the side that
was marked up as a service entrance. Lieutenant Davies helped the
rest of his team reach the same spot before checking his weapon.
Like all Alliance marines, he carried the L52 Mark II Assault
Carbine, the most advanced and numerous weapons in the arsenal. It
had replaced the previous L48 rifle in the last decade, and its
flexibility and variable fire modes made it perfect for use in
space, on land or on board ships. A simple silent operation mode
could be selected by twisting the barrel. It reduced the energy to
the coils and reduced the velocity to subsonic speeds. This also
reduced the noise, but more importantly, the depth of penetration,
a vital requirement for operations where a projectile tearing
through the hull could kill them all.
    With just a nod, the
Sergeant of the platoon, a gruff old marine called Tex, activated
the door and used the bypass to open the metal mechanism. It slid
open to reveal nothing other than yet another dark room. Lieutenant
Davies tilted his head and motioned with his left hand for them to
enter. The first three moved inside and into the open lobby type
room. There would normally be a dozen people moving about, but with
the loss of power and gravity, it was deserted.
    “ The crew will be at
their stations or waiting near the evacuation points in case the
order is given by the Captain,” he explained.
    The young Lieutenant
made it just a few metres from the entrance when a fusillade of
thermal rounds struck their position. The weapons were archaic, and
the kind normally used by smugglers and criminal gangs.
Nonetheless, the marines were forced to pull themselves to cover as
the super-heated scatter shot embedded itself around their
position. One marine was hit in the shoulder and spun out of
control back through the doorway. More flickers of light gave away
the enemy positions, and Lieutenant Davies was forced to pull
himself behind a narrow bulkhead to avoid being hit. He tapped his
comms gear and connected directly with Captain Raikes.
    “Captain, we’ve arrived at the service
entrance and come under fire.”
    Another burst struck
a marine as he returned fire with his carbine. The difference in
weapons was apparent in both report and effect. Each time the
shotguns fired, they sent a low velocity burst of molten metal that
struck armour and glass and burned through. The metal projectile
fired from the carbines, on the other hand, was designed to squash
but not shatter on impact.
    “Marines, push them back! We need the
control station!”
    With that order, the
surviving marines pulled themselves into cover and fired back, each
taking aim at the two muzzle flashes from the enemy. It was
difficult to tell if they’d hit them, but in less than a minute,
the shotguns ceased firing. The marines were able to push ahead
nearly twenty metres to reach the station. Tex made it to the
station first and pulled open the security panel.
    “Lieutenant, the system has been
deactivated.”
    Lieutenant Davies
pulled himself along the right-hand wall and around the flank of
the system. The control station was large, easily the size of a
man, and consisted of three large displays and a rather antiquated
looking computer system. It was, of course, all heavily ruggedized
and intended to operate even after the effects of a major
electromagnetic attack. Advanced systems were not