Operation Orion - Kevin Dockery [30]
Sanchez stretched out the limb and winced. “No problem,” he said, though his expression belied the assertion.
“Take it easy for a few minutes,” the officer said, acutely aware that there was no way to treat the wound in the airless vacuum of the pirate base.
By that time, Lieutenant Jackson had dropped down from the upper level, sliding quickly along the spiral steps to join his executive officer. Sanders reported on Sanchez’s status and learned that Keast had taken a hit in the leg that might have broken his tibia.
“Damn,” he commiserated. “What about the hostiles behind your position up there?”
“Chief Harris has six men with him. He decided that was enough to make a counterattack, and the last word I had was that he’d cornered one survivor in the head. He was in negotiations over the translator, asking the fellow if he wanted to give up or take a dozen rounds up his ass. I don’t think the chief cared much either way.”
Sanders snorted at the dark humor even as Harris’s voice came over the comlink, reporting that one pirate indeed had been captured.
More of the Team were continuing down into the depths of the crater, one member of a shooter pair covering his partner as they slipped down the stairway, checking on the third and then fourth levels. Both proved to have rows of bunks, with a mess hall on the lower level. The fifth, bottom deck was the actual stone floor of the crater.
“There’s an air lock down here,” Ruiz reported grimly. “It was closing as I came down the last steps. I’m guessing some hostiles got away. The door looks pretty heavy-duty, too. It’ll take us some work to smash through it.”
“What’s the orientation of the escape route?” Jackson asked immediately.
“Looks like due north of the central chamber,” the master chief informed him.
“Damn, they’re making for the ship,” the LT cursed.
“Sir, request permission to put a firecracker up their tail if they take off,” Rodale said, cradling his M76 rocket launcher.
Jackson looked at his junior officer. “No sign of that shield driver, I don’t suppose.”
“Negative, sir. It didn’t seem to be in the storage module, though we didn’t take time for a careful search.”
“Well, if it’s still on that ship, I don’t want it getting off this asteroid. Rocky, permission granted. G-Man, see if you can also punch a few holes in their escape plans.”
“Aye, aye, sir!” the two SEALS replied in unison. They started upward in long bounds, each carrying one of the Team’s heavy weapons.
“Sandy, you follow along, will you? See that the boys don’t get into any more trouble than they absolutely have to.”
“Gotcha, skipper,” Sanders said. Schroeder and Mirowski came with him as they chased the two gunner’s mates up to the top level and out through the breach in the wall of the storage chamber.
Once they were back out onto the cold, dark stone of the asteroid, the silver dart of the pirate ship loomed above them like a deadly dagger. Even as they watched, the twin engines at the stern, rocket muzzles perched just above the rocky surface, pulsed with an eerie glow of ignition.
“The LT says he doesn’t want that thing to get away,” Sanders said drolly, addressing Rodale and LaRue, both of whom had raised their heavy weapons to their shoulders. “You fellows think you can make the skipper happy?”
“I can damn sure try,” Rodale said. “I’ll take the starboard engine, G-Man, if that’s all right with you.”
“By all means, Rock,” LaRue agreed graciously. He sighted his rail gun on the port rocket.
The ship’s engines pulsed again, thrumming with an energy that the SEALS could feel through the rock beneath their feet. The eerie glow brightened to a white fire, surging flames pressing downward, starting the ship upward through the light gravity.
The two SEALS fired at the same time. The slug from the rail gun, traveling at extreme velocity, punched through the housing of the port engine, and that pod immediately was engulfed by flame. Rodale’s rocket, flying straight and true in the airless vacuum, caught