The Dark Star War (Codex Regius Book 3) by Kennedy Chris

Author:Kennedy, Chris [Kennedy, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Chris Kennedy Publishing
Published: 2016-07-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Task Force O’Leary, TSS Vella Gulf, Anti-Jotunheimr System, December 23, 2021

Lieutenant O’Leary peeked around the corner in time to see a pair of enormous horizontal legs go around the next corner. “Contact,” he commed. “The Jotunn have some kind of anti-gravity sled they are sitting on; that’s how they’re moving around the ship.” He hadn’t thought about it before, but the ceilings weren’t tall enough for the giants to stand. They would have had to crawl on their hands and knees…or ride anti-gravity sleds. Maybe the Jotunn were smarter than he had given them credit for.

He ran to the next corner and peered around. “Fuck!” he yelled as he dove back from the next passageway.

“Okay, this sucks,” O’Leary commed. “There are two Jotunn sitting side-by-side on anti-gravity sleds. They’re each holding big-ass shields and some sort of shotgun-like weapon. Behind them are two other giants armed with the same shotgun-like weapons, who are firing over the shields of the first rank. There are more giants on the other side of them, breaking into Aft Steering. At least four or five of them. Aside from an awful lot of high explosives, I don’t see any way we’re going to stop them.”

There had to be a better way; taking on the Jotunn in a frontal-assault was going to get a lot of people killed, including himself, and even then, there was no guarantee they could breach the Jotunn’s defenses. He called up the Vella Gulf’s schematics on his in-head display, but he didn’t see any way over, under or around the Jotunn.

“Solomon, Lieutenant O’Leary,” he commed; “is there any way to get to Aft Steering without going down the next passageway?”

“There is a shaft in the overhead that my maintenance robots use to repair the cable runs,” the AI replied; “however, it is extremely narrow and nearly all of your platoon won’t be able to fit through it.”

“How many of my troops can make it?”

“Just one; if Staff Sergeant Loftis removes most of her gear, she may fit through the access shaft. In addition to the shaft being narrow, there is also a blind switchback she will have to negotiate. It will be most difficult for her to complete the maneuver. I believe it will be impossible for anyone else.”

“Did you hear that, Loftis?”

“Yes, Lieutenant, I did,” Canary replied. “I hate narrow places, especially in the dark, but I’m willing to try it rather than going into the maws of the Jotunn’s shotguns.” The entry port for the access shaft appeared about 15 feet away on the map in her head.

Staff Sergeant Loftis sat down underneath the hatch and took off her gear, then she threw some of her equipment into a small bag and stood up. “Ready,” she said.

A couple of the troops gave her a boost up to the hatchway. She took off the cover and handed it down. “Damn, it’s dark,” Canary said, sticking her head up through the port. She looked around inside.

“I’m going to need a light source,” she added.

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