Nu Trilogy 1: The Esss Advance by Charles E. Waugh

raining down explosive charges to every corner of the bay as they retreated.
     
    Gomez had one of the downed marines over his shoulder, and his sergeant had the other. They were the first out of the breach, with the remainder of the squad spraying cover fire around the bay just in case someone popped their head up to fire at the retreating marines. Sted was second to last out, followed by Allen, who was covering his back.
     
    “Commander Richardson, we have Shuttle II inbound to your location. ETA forty seconds,” Captain Landsted said over the command circuit. “We got every second of your recordings through the relay. Based on your ten-minute timer orders, you have four minutes to get the squad into the shuttle and away from the cargo bay before it blows.”
     
    “Gomez,” Sted called, “ Shuttle II is at your nine o’clock approaching with the shuttle bay doors open. Get everyone aboard ASAP. We have less than four minutes until those charges blow.”
     
    Sted moved alongside of Gomez to add his suit’s thrust to that of Gomez to make up for the extra mass of Chandler’s body and armor. Even with the extra push, they were the last to make it into the shuttle bay. As the shuttle doors closed, the outer hull of the colony erupted with a series of explosions. When Sted moved to the cockpit to get a better view of the damage, he saw that the interior of cargo bay three must have given way. Atmosphere was pouring out of the breach, along with melted and twisted pieces of cargo. He also saw suited and unsuited bodies floating listlessly among the detritus of what looked like a pitched battle.
     
    “ Charger , this is Commander Richardson. The squad is back aboard the shuttle. We have two casualties. The entire area around cargo bay three on the colony has been destroyed with multiple casualties. I recommend you coordinate a rescue mission with the colony. There may be a few suited survivors outside of the cargo bay.”
     
    “ Charger copies,” Captain Landsted replied. “Make your best time back. I don’t want you exposed to any retaliatory strikes. We have five destroyers inbound to either finish off this hidden shipyard or board and secure the facility if they surrender. We won’t be dealing with survivors from those explosions until the action is over.”

    Commander Kim Cho’s voice sounded over Shuttle II’s speakers, “ Shuttle I is clear of passenger bay seven.” Sted and the shuttle pilot could see the other shuttle pulling away from the Northern Song colony as it accelerated in a wide arc back toward the USpN Charger .
     
    “ Northern Song , this is Captain Landsted aboard USpN Charger . You are ordered to stand down all forces aboard. We will give you one hour to accept full surrender of your facility to the United Space Navy. If you do not acknowledge surrender, your facility will be destroyed. No ships will be allowed to depart from your colony. Please observe the five additional destroyers inbound from Earth. Their ETA coincides with your one-hour window. Acknowledge receipt of these orders.”
     
    “ Charger , this is Northern Song acknowledging receipt of your orders.”
     
    With that settled for the moment, Sted returned to the shuttle bay from the cockpit to check on the status of Chandler and Singleton. When he got there, both had been stripped of their battle armor and were strapped to medical gurneys with IVs running into their arms. That meant both men were still alive.
     
    Sted turned to Gomez. “What’s their status?”
     
    “Singleton took a hit to the back of his helmet that knocked him unconscious. We’ve stabilized him for now, but the docs onboard will have to check him out, because he hasn’t regained consciousness. Chandler lost his left arm below the elbow. The suit saved his life, but he’s still in shock. We’re keeping him warm and hydrated for now. There’s nothing else we can do until we get him back to the Charger .”
     
    “Thanks, Lieutenant,” Sted