35
The Battle of Lortec
The crews on most of the ships they’d passed coming into port seemed too busy preparing for the day’s work to pay them much heed, but the TGA patrol boat coming at them pulled up close and the two soldiers on deck gave them a hard stare. One of the soldiers yelled to the captain. “What’s wrong? Why are you coming back into port?”
The captain yelled back, “The engines are sounding a bit rough. I was afraid she’d break down at sea—thought I should check them out.”
The soldier nodded. “Did you see anything unusual out there?”
The captain shook his head, “No.”
The soldier glanced around the ship one last time and then nodded to the pilot to drive on. When they finally arrived at Slip 32 they were relieved to see the slip empty and the pier quiet. After tying up the boat their first order of business was securing their transportation. It was about two kylods to the track where the pacers were garaged. It took them about ten loons to get there, walking quickly but trying not to attract attention. Along the way many fishermen and merchants saw them but only showed modest curiosity.
They were dressed, not in Loyalist's uniforms, but their old uniforms of the TGA. They thought since there was a big TGA base just a few kylods away seeing a few soldiers around wouldn’t be unusual. Of course, impersonating a TGA soldier was a serious crime, but it didn’t much matter since they’d be shot anyway if they got caught.
The big sign in front of the park read: "Southern Sea Zodilla Run—Wild Zodilla Racing—Races Daily." Fortunately the place was deserted this time of morning so they went straight for the barns where the Zodilla pacers were located. This time the barns were locked up with double padlocks. Apparently management hadn't been too thrilled about their last visit. Two laser blasts destroyed the locks, without making too much noise, and the doors to the barn swung open.
Inside there were eight black and white pacers. They only needed six as their party consisted of Tam, Red, Sy, Peter and two soldiers, Lotis and Curillo, who had defected from the TGA base at Ock Mezan. It took less than ten loons for them to get back to the ship and five more to load up their gear and get on their way.
Their next obstacle was to get in position without being detected. The plan was to station themselves about a kylod from the end of the runway. Before they left, General Zitor had given them a map of Lortec and some aerial photographs of the base. Their plan had been to drive along the southern perimeter of the Zodilla range and cut across the east end of the range to a position near the base runway. Unfortunately, they discovered that such route would be way out of their way and throw them off schedule. They had no choice but to cut across the Zodilla range to their position.
When they stopped midway along the perimeter of the range, Red said, "Why are we stopping?"
"I'm afraid we've got to go across," Peter replied.
"What? You've got to be kidding. Don't you remember what those Zodilla did to the TGA soldiers the last time we were here."
"Yes, I remember quite vividly, but we have no choice. Besides, these pacers are designed to outrun the Zodillas."
“Sure they are, but we’re not exactly accomplished drivers. We’ve only driven these things one time, for the sake of Sandee.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Red didn’t reply, so Peter turned and blew a hole in the fence with his laser gun. He hoped the Zodilla slept at night and their intrusion wouldn't awaken them. Unfortunately, he was wrong. The pacers, they learned later, were designed to stir the big monsters and get them running before a race. Not five loons after they were on the track the ground began to shake and they saw the first ones racing after them. By the time they were at midfield, the whole herd of Zodillas was on their heals.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Red screamed through his communicator.
"Don't look back. Just keep it at full-throttle. If our engines don't fail, they can't outrun us."
"What about the fence?" Sy asked. "If we stop to blow the fence, we'll get trampled."
Tam replied, "I'll drive ahead and blow a hole in it and then drive through. Just follow me."
That sounded like a great plan except that if the laser didn't cut a big enough hole, Tam could be seriously injured or even decapitated trying to go through it.
"No!" Peter said. "I've got a better idea. After you blow the hole don't go through it. Make a hard right and let one of the Zodilla go through the hole first. The rest will probably follow and cause all kind of hell on the base."
"Great idea," Tam said as he stood up to fire his laser one handed. He looked like a gladiator with one hand on the steering wheel and the laser rifle in his other. The pacer lurched sharply and Tam nearly fell off. He regained control and when he was less than a hundred strides from the fence he fired. The fence lit up like a neon sign as Tam made a hard right. They each followed his lead and took a sharp right turn before going through the fence. The first Zodilla tried to follow them but his momentum carried him through the fence. The rest of the herd followed his lead, stampeding onto the TGA base.
After the dust had settled, Peter and his squad went through the gaping hole and set up their position at the end of the runway. They heard screams of terror and gunfire as the Zodilla rampaged through the base. Then Lorin broke radio silence.
"R1, come in," Lorin said.
"R1, here. Go ahead," he replied.
"Phase one, complete. Standby for phase two."
"Acknowledged. We're ready."
Phase one was designed to lure away the fighters in the sky above Lortec. The plan was to send a small band of fighters into Lortec airspace and then to run when the patrols came to intercept them. The hope was to draw them away from the island so that the main force of fighters could attack the base without interference from the air.
Phase two was the main assault on the TGA base by over one hundred and fifty fighters and twenty-five bombers. Peter’s squad’s job was to keep the TGA fighters from taking off and interfering with the attack. Their reconnaissance had determined that there were over 525 fighters on the base. Most were conventional fighters that had to use the runway. Twenty-five, however, were vertical lift fighters that wouldn't need the runway and were kept on another part of the base. Peter and his squad couldn't do anything to stop them from their position, so they would be the first targets of the fighters and bombers attacking the base.
Suddenly there was a sonic boom. Peter looked up in the sky, knowing their fighters had arrived. He couldn't see them in the bright sun until they came swooping down on the base like lava from a volcano. Only chaos and ruin were left in their wake as they flew off, only to return moments later to wreck more havoc on their disoriented foe. Close behind the fighters were the bombers with their genius bombs each programmed to hit within a few feet of each's specific target. Peter wondered what those targets would be and how they'd been selected.
The bombers looked like a flock of birds coming out of the sun. The loud shriek of falling bombs gave Peter goose bumps. The time had finally arrived—the first major battle of the Tarizonian Civil War had commenced. Peter motioned for his men to get ready. They nodded and checked their weapons. They all had portable missile launchers called PMLs. They were firing a version of the Muscan missile, but a smaller one with a shorter range. It would be adequate for shooting planes trying to take off just 300 strides away.
The first fighter came screaming down the runway anxious to do battle. Sy lifted his PML and waited for the target to lock. When the green light went on he pulled the trigger. The muscan missile made a gushing sound as it shot up to toward the plane barely off the ground. The plane exploded scattering burning debris all over the runway.
Another plane was right on its tail and climbed rapidly in the sky. A missile from Red's launcher shot up at it and made contact just a few hundred strides in front of them. Debris came falling down and they had to scatter to avoid being hit.
"Don't wait so long," Peter barked. "You
almost got us killed. Get them just as they take off."
A rattled Red nodded and started to reload his PML. It was Peter's turn and he didn't want to make the same mistake Red had made so he aimed his missile just as soon as the next fighter came into view. The green light went on and he pulled the trigger. The missile gushed forward and struck the plane dead on just as it left the ground. The plane dropped, skidded, and then burst into flames as it hit the debris left from the previous fighters they'd downed.
By this time the Loyalist fighters and bombers could be seen everywhere, blowing up anything that might be of value to the TGA. The sound of exploding bombs was deafening. Smoke billowed up into the air until it was so dark it was difficult to see. It looked like a massacre, until Peter saw two more fighters coming down the runway side by side with four more right behind them .
It was Tam's turn, then Lotis and Curillo, so they were ready, but Sy, Red and Peter were still reloading. That meant that three birds might get in the air if Sy, Red, and Peter were unable to reload and fire in time. Lotis and Curillo got their missiles off right after Tam. All the missiles ran true and blew the planes from the sky. Sy finished loading his launcher and pointed it up toward the fourth plane now almost out of range. He fired and the missile screamed after the T47. The explosion was so close it nearly knocked Peter over. The other planes took off but none of the squad were able to get reloaded in time to fire at them.
"Three birds got by us," Peter said into his communicator. "Sorry, there were too many of them." Peter was tuned into the frequency of their attack squadron. The squadron leader come back at him.
"We're on them. Don't worry. You can't do all the work."
"Confirmed. Good luck."
The runway was quiet for a moment. Peter assumed the TGA command was getting six planes to launch at them all at one time again since that had just worked. Then they heard the sound of planes coming in from behind them. "Shit," Peter said. "The hounds are back from chasing the fox."
Tam looked up and replied, "We're sitting durk birds where we’re at. We’d better head back to the boat."
"My thoughts exactly," Peter replied. "Let's pack 'em up and move out."
Just as Peter gave the command a missile exploded not fifty feet from them, knocking them to the ground. Peter got up and said, "Forget the missile launchers. Just get in your pacers. Let's get the hell out of here."
Another missile exploded behind them and Peter saw a plane coming in low to strafe them. He jumped in his pacer, started the engine, and took off to the right. The others followed him but he couldn't see what happened to Sy. Then he heard the steady rattle of machine gun fire. He glanced back and saw Sy trying to evade the plane that was right on his tail. Peter wheeled around trying to attract the pilot's attention, but he didn't stray from his deadly course. The line of bullets from the T47 cut through Sy’s stomach. Peter winced in horror.
"No!"
The plane flew by. Peter gunned his engine and was at Sy's side in a tik. He jumped out, knelt beside him, and lifted his arm to take his pulse. There was nothing. Red drove up, skidding to a stop a few feet away. He jumped out and knelt next to Peter.
"Is he okay?" Red asked.
"No," Peter moaned. "He's dead."
"Oh! Sandee."
Red raised his fist to the plane that was circling for another run. Just as it had completed its turn one of the Loyalist fighters got on its tail. The TGA fighter suddenly dived in an evasive maneuver. The Loyalist pilot reacted quickly and stayed close behind. Then there was a puff of smoke from the Loyalist fighter, and the TGA fighter exploded.
"Yes!" Red yelled, his fist raised high.
Peter said, "Let's put Sy on my pacer and get the hell out of here. I don't want to lose anybody else."
As they were loading Sy’s body onto Peter's pacer, Tam arrived. He jumped out of his vehicle and grabbed a hold of Sy's mid-section immediately becoming saturated with blood. Peter didn't have to tell Tam what had happened. One look into Peter's eyes and he knew the whole story. After Sy was secured they took off toward the Zodilla range, but when they got to the place where the Zodillas had stampeded through the fence, there was a squadron of TGA soldiers blocking their retreat.
Before the soldiers could see them Peter stopped his pacer. Tam, Red, Lotis and Curillo came up along side and stopped too. Peter shook his head and said, "We'll have to go around the fence."
They nodded and were off. It was five kylods out of their way but Peter didn’t think they had a choice. Five of them were no match for a dozen TGA soldiers. As they rode along the fence line Peter watched the battle in progress. Planes were screaming by, bombs were exploding everywhere, and the smoke in the air was so thick he could hardly breathe. He wondered how the battle was going. They'd obviously caught them by surprise and dealt them a serious blow, but they'd survived the attack and were now counter attacking. Peter feared the worst. What if they attacked LB1?
At the northeast corner of the fence line Peter stopped to call base. He wanted to report in and get instructions from command. "Squadron leader. Come in."
"This is squadron leader. What is your status?"
"We were under heavy assault and had to retreat to safe ground. One man is down."
"Sorry about that, R1. . . . Standby for orders."
"Okay, standing by."
"R1. Return to base. Repeat. Return to base. You've done all you can."
"Confirmed. We're on our way."
Peter looked at his squad and said, "Back to the boat."
They nodded and they all took off in a southerly direction along the southwest perimeter fence line. The sound of the battle raging behind them subsided and the air cleared as they approached Milvess. As they were driving Peter wondered what had become of the Zodillas. Were they all killed by the TGA? He felt a little guilty sending them to be slaughtered, but there was little else he could have done. He vowed then to make it up to them. He'd do all that he could do to end Zodilla confinement and exploitation on Tarizon.
As Peter saw Milvess in the distance he felt greatly relieved—relieved that they'd survived, that he'd soon be on his way back to LB1, and that tonight he'd be in Luci's bed. But as they got closer his heart sank. The city was completely surrounded by TGA soldiers and there were check points at every entrance. They stopped and Peter was about to report in for instructions when a sentry spotted them and sent a patrol out to apprehend them.
Peter and his men took off toward the beach as there was no other way to go. To their back was the Zodilla range. If they turned around and went the way they had come, they'd be back in the thick of the battle and soon surrounded by the enemy. But fleeing toward the beach didn’t do them much good either, Peter realized. Soon they’d run out of real estate and then what? Their situation seemed hopeless. They sped along toward the Southern Sea with their pursuers close behind hoping for a miracle. Peter heard a shot fired and felt the bullet glance off the body of his pacer. Adrenalin flooded his system. Soon they were at the end of the road. All there was between them and the Southern Sea was a thin strand of beach.
They lined up their pacers and knelt behind them for cover. Peter figured it would be their last stand. They'd go out in glory and kill fifty men before they spent their last breath. Peter looked out at the soldiers coming at them, then back at the sea. Suddenly he felt a presence in his mind. His dream of the previous night flashed through his head. Could it really happen? He got up slowly, walked to the edge of the water, and closed his eyes. "Come Seafolken, soldiers of the Southern Sea," he said silently; "I command you to come and do battle! . . . Come Talhk, Rusht, and Quirken. Gather your soldiers and bring them to me."
Before he had finished his last command there was a great churning in the water. Tam and Red looked back when they heard it. As they all stared out at the water wide-eyed, hundreds of Seafolken began to emerge one by one from the depths of the sea. Soon they were in formation and marching past them toward the approaching TGA soldiers. When the soldi
ers began firing on them the first column of Seafolken picked up large rocks and began throwing them at the soldiers. Their aim was true and soldiers began falling like needles off a dead Christmas tree.
Many of the Seafolken were hit by rifle fire, but their skin was so thick the bullets couldn't penetrate it with enough velocity to do any serious damage. When the remnants of the first wave of soldiers and the second wave made their assault, hundreds of Seafolken broke ranks and did an end run around them until they had them completely surrounded. The third line of Seafolken then came up to look at their captors.
"Throw down your weapons and surrender!" General Quirken screamed.
There was no response from the bewildered soldiers, so Quirken raised his hand and the third wave of Seafolken stepped forward. The soldiers opened fire but their bullets did no damage to the Seafolken and before they took a second shot, guns began flying out of the soldier's hands. Some Soldiers were thrown to the ground in the grip of an invisible force, others grabbed their throats like they were being choked, and the rest raised their hands in surrender.
General Quirken looked at Peter and said, "Follow us and we'll see you safely to your ship."
Peter nodded; they got back in their pacers and followed the army of Seafolken toward Milvess. The Seafolken were running fast, forcing Peter and his squad to travel at cruising speed to keep up. They passed many TGA soldiers along the way but none dared challenge them in the company of their fearsome allies from the sea. When they got to their ship, they launched immediately; the Seafolken dove into the water and swam beside them until they were safely out at sea. Then the Seafolken disappeared without a word.
Tarizon, The Liberator, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 1 Page 61