Battle of Hercules by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2014-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

 Marshall sat back, trying not to fidget as the shuttle slowly drifted into the heart of the asteroid; apparently the troops had started calling it Hades, and it seemed an appropriate name. Aside from being half again as big, this asteroid was a carbon copy of the one they had found at Jefferson, the long tunnel reaching in to the massive central chamber at the core, illuminated with spotlights, docking ports for starships, airlock scattered about in an apparently random formation.

 Another shuttle flew past them, dragging a dozen huge spheres on tightly attached cables; another fuel transfer, bound for Alamo or Hercules. Had Alamo’s pumps been working, this wouldn’t have been as bad, but Quinn was having serious problems repairing their one piece of battle damage, and Hercules wasn’t even equipped for fuel transfer in that manner. Given time, they could improvise something, but Marshall was rather hoping that they would be on their way home before that.

 He felt like a bit of a hypocrite coming here at all, after preventing Carpenter; she had a goal to accomplish here, whereas he just felt that he had to visit a spot where people under his command had fallen, see what they had died for with his own eyes at least once. Captain’s prerogative. The shuttle slowed almost to a stop, floating slowly towards the airlock. A spacesuited figure was drifting around, doing some work on the upper mechanism; turning, it waved at the shuttle as it approached, and it took an effort for Marshall not to reply.

 With a loud clang, the docking clamps engaged, the pressure began to equalize, and the airlock started to cycle. Marshall unclipped his restraints, drifting free, and pushed himself to the exit; the hatch from the pilot’s cabin opened, and the shuttle pilot – a blonde he vaguely recognized as one of the crew they’d taken aboard at Mariner, floated through.

 “All secure, sir,” she said.

 “Good flying, Spaceman.”

 “I’m here for the shift, sir, so you’ll need to take Shuttle Three back. Airlock down the corridor.”

 “Thanks.”

 “Just part of the service, Captain.”

 With a nod, Marshall pushed into the station proper, drifting down the long tunnel to the central corridor. He shook his head at the bullet holes in the walls, the thin trace of blood that had remained, a relic of a wound or a fatality sustained here. Ensign Zabek swung around the far end of the corridor, pushing towards him with a speed that suggested the possibility of an imminent collision.

 “Welcome aboard, sir,” she said, saluting. “I’m sorry no-one was here to meet you.”

 Returning the sharp salute, he replied, “Relax, Ensign. I didn’t expect to be piped on board, or I'd have warned you I was coming.”

 “Is there something wrong, Captain?”

 Shaking his head, he said, “This isn’t a surprise inspection or anything ghastly like that; I just wanted to see the place for myself. Can you spare some time for a quick tour?”

 “Certainly, sir,” she replied with a smile. “If you would follow me?”

 “By all means, Ensign.”

 The

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