Coalition Defense Force Boxed Set: First to Fight by Gibbs Daniel & Stephens Gary T

Author:Gibbs, Daniel & Stephens, Gary T.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-04T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Sheila rounded a corner and came upon a couple dozen soldiers in fire-retardant suits who lugged hoses and fire-extinguishing equipment. “Report, Master Chief.”

“About to breach, XO. Get your hood on.”

He looks like he was he born in the CDF. “No time. I’m here to coordinate anyway.”

“Stay back, then. I expect some flashing.”

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. It’s been a decade since I did damage control, and a fire spreading over our heads isn’t my idea of fun. She’d briefly considered putting on a zero-G suit but decided against it, as time was of the essence. In the old days, crews had to contend with zero-G fires, which behaved strangely compared to a fire in gravity. But artificial gravity generators had solved the problem a century ago for the Terrans.

“Understood, Master Chief. Breach that hatch, and let’s get this fire out.”

Smoke wafted through the edges of the hatch, giving some indication of the seriousness of the situation. Sheila fell back to the rear of the formation as the master chief dogged the hatch open. Flames shot out of the entryway, engulfing a fireman. The team was quick to hose him down in CO2, and his protective suit did its job. She hung back for a few seconds before entering at the rear of the team. What she saw shocked her. Massive plumes of flames shot through the large bay. The fire was out of control.

“Master Chief! Clear the way to the controls for fire suppression system. That’s our best solution.”

“Yes, ma’am. Corporal, put down a wave of foam. Mathews, check those controls.”

For a few minutes, the team frantically sprayed CO2 foam and slowly beat back the flames. Upon reaching the manual controls, the private detailed to the task started his work.

“We got a problem here!” he screamed above the din of firefighting efforts. “The keypad isn’t functioning. Looks like the heat melted it.”

“Cover me, Master Chief,” Sheila said and picked her way through the path of twisted metal and slippery deck plating. Sliding next to the young private, she rechecked his diagnosis. Dammit, this is what we get for not having an actual shakedown cruise. “Okay, plan B. Get a crewman down here in a zero-G suit, and we’ll manually open the space to vacuum.”

“Away zero-G damage-control party. Emergency!” the master chief said through his commlink.

“Acknowledged,” someone Sheila didn’t recognize called back.

“It’ll take them five to ten minutes to get here, XO.”

“Spread the team out and keep the flames beaten down,” Sheila said as she continued to try to get a response out of the keypad. She even resorted to hitting the stubborn piece of technology.

A shout from halfway across the magazine attracted her attention. As she glanced up, a warhead fell off its protective rack as the metal alloys began to melt. My God, if one of those cooks off, it’ll destroy the ship from the inside!

“Master Chief. That rack of shells is melting. Get CO2 on it now!”

The team was already engaged. Three soldiers lined up, spraying foam from large hose nozzles.

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