by Tom Hart
General Taylor was speaking again. ‘The weapons seem to interact with the armour. When a person wears the suit the weapons attach themselves without the need for holsters or any other mechanical aid. In fact the armour appears to be designed with a deliberate curvature to accommodate them on the back and thighs.’
Henry wished the CIA had weapons like these in the 1970s. His life would have been far easier. He assumed every castle in Poland was being searched from top to bottom now.
‘So what are they made of, I mean if we can make them they can’t be hard for others to make too? Could the Chinese have them?’ That was his biggest concern.
Taylor shook his head. ‘They require rare metals which are hard to get and even harder to refine. We have only been able to produce two hundred of the rifles and eighty of the pistols. Certainly enough to equip a large proportion of a Ranger Battalion though. We are sending them to Australia in two days.
Duke sensed Henry’s reluctance.
‘Don’t worry, Hydra tells me the Chinese quartz laser system will not work against our gear.’
‘Are you sure?’ The two hundred Navy Seals killed in the first raid were still weighing on Henry’s conscience.
‘I’m sure, Hydra says the armour is an imitation of a far more advanced system used by a group she calls the Knights of the Abyss.’
Henry laughed. ‘Knight of the Abyss?’
Duke didn't laugh. ‘From what Hydra tells me they are no laughing matter. Think ninjas crossed with Templar Knights.’
‘So we have at least one alien Crusader Ninja lose on Earth?’ asked Henry.
He’d spent his life hunting down America’s enemies but at least they had been predictable, killable and human. Now an alien? Whose side would they be on?
Henry had seen the 1963 analysis conducted by the CIA and RAND Corporation on alien contact. One such scenario contemplated aliens would not be found in space but on Earth, blending in. The scenario didn’t end well for humans.
‘Can’t wait to meet them either,’ Duke ventured.
Taylor rolled his eyes and coughed.
‘The President has authorised the use of the weapons. Specially equipped rangers will land by submarine on the Australian coastal port of Nowra.’
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
NOWRA
The US navy intelligence briefing told the Rangers the Australian port city of Nowra was a ‘shithole.’ Ranger Captain Matthew Latham had to agree. The streets were filthy and overgrown with weeds. Old car hulks seemed to be the decoration of choice for most gardens. Intel told him that prior to the invasion it was the site of an Australian Navy heavy maintenance facility and armoury. If that was meant to be the area with the rusty cranes and derricks his men had just crept through it was little wonder the Australian Navy had been blasted to pieces. What a mess.
The screen on Matthew’s forearm flashed red. Enemy units detected. Finally, time to test out the strange little pistol. ‘
‘Shit, these little toys are awesome Cap,’ Lieutenant Ferguson's high pitched voice screamed over the intercom as a squadron of Chinese tanks exploded on a nearby hill.
Matthew agreed but he was aware the proceedings were being live streamed to the Pentagon. ‘Radio discipline Rangers,’ he said in his best Officer voice.
Matthew wondered if there would be a need for his Rangers in future conflicts. His company of one hundred and thirty men had destroyed a Chinese Division in less than half an hour. You wouldn't know it from what was left. There were no burning hulks of vehicles or piles of dead bodies. It was mostly ash and scorch marks.
He felt like he was fighting in some kind of future war, on another planet almost. He couldn't get the image of the spinning T-72 tank round hovering in the air metres from his head. His suit had somehow stopped it dead in its tracks. He'd be headless otherwise. General Taylor had explained the magnetic defence mechanism to him but now he'd seen it with his own eyes. Incredible! He was literally bulletproof.
The Rangers selected a handful of Chinese trucks to be their transport to Canberra. It was a relatively short three hour drive to the Australian capital. There were a few delays along the way as they encountered light Chinese resistance at several roadblocks. Afterwards the only evidence of the Ranger's presence was a trail of ash and melted metal which left Chinese reinforcements baffled.
Matthew saw the red banners of the elite Chinese units surrounding Parliament House as clear as day on the satellite feed. By now he wasn't the least bit concerned about their multi-launch rocket system and entrenched artillery, or the bunkers hosting heavy machine guns hidden in the trees. With his armour he was indestructible. He ordered his men to simply walk on in, no need for cover.
General Zang first received word something unusual was afoot when his son burst into his office and said they were under attack by an unknown force of black warriors wearing Crusader armour. He didn't believe it until his staff showed him the live feed from the drones patrolling the city.
Were they aliens come to punish the Chinese for stealing their sphere? No, the footage showed US Army insignia on the warrior's shoulders.
‘Flash message to Beijing,’ Zhang ordered. ‘Initiate a full scale retaliation against Los Angeles and New York, magnitude 15.’
‘Communications with the mainland are down sir,’ a Sergeant said. The man shook his head. His board had been green a second ago.
‘Get me communications back now,’ screamed Zhang.
*****
Major Keung Li was bored shitless. He'd checked and rechecked the position of his battery every day for the past month. He'd run drills ever six hours, day and night to keep his men at their peak. But he had no one to shoot at, no threats, and no adversary worthy of his 155mm guns. In fact since arriving in Australia Keung hadn't fired at a single enemy vehicle or soldier. They were swept away by the time his unit arrived in Canberra. When the flash message came from Colonel Lok, the artillery battalion commander, Keung felt invigorated. He didn't care if he was fighting aliens. He had someone to fight, that was all that mattered. His guns fired every three seconds, it was a record he was proud of. His crews and their guns were a well-oiled machine.
Keung ordered a break in firing to allow the smoke to clear. He wanted to assess the destruction he'd inflicted on the aliens in their black armour. Two hundred rounds of high explosive should have left piles of gore and smashed up bone. He couldn't wait to see it.
Fletcher saw the three batteries of Chinese guns dug into the hill the Australian's called Black Mountain. He ordered a squad to toast them.
Keung died in a flash of light. Only his head remained - his body was reduced to a pile of ash. His precious guns were now nothing but melted slag arranged in a neat semi-circle. Only one gunner in his unit survived, he'd jumped into a creek and stayed underwater until the lasers finished their work. When the Ranger's pulled the soaked trooper out he began babbling away in Mandarin. ‘What's he saying,’ Matthew asked his Mandarin speaking Corporal. The Corporal laughed.
‘He thinks we are demons from Diyu, their version of Hell.’
‘We should use that,’ Matthew said. ‘Billy, bring the radio over here.’
The Corporal struggled to stop himself from laughing as he read the message Matthew had written on his notepad after consulting Wikipedia on Diyu, the Chinese Hell.
‘Calling all terrestrial Chinese forces, I am King Quinguang, the first of the Yama Kings. For your wickedness you will be roasted alive. Surrender to me and save your worthless souls.’
Fire from Chinese units stopped almost immediately. ‘They're surrendering sir,’ Matthew’s second in command said with a grin, handing Matthew his binoculars.
‘Well I'll be damned,’ said Matthew. He hadn't expected it to work.
The remaining Red Banner troops around Parliament House knew it was time to get out of Dodge. Matthew let the four Chinese helicopters on the lawns of Parliament go unharmed. They would pass on the message that demons had arrived to cleanse the count
ry of Chinese.
Matthews personally shot the Chinese Sergeant who attacked his command squad with nothing but a bayonet. Matthew warned him several times but the crazy fool just wouldn't give up. As he stepped over the man's body he noticed his name badge 'Zhou.'
‘Take note of this one,’ Matthew said to the Press Officer embedded with his team. ‘We should make sure his family are told of his bravery.’
Zhang was still screaming when the first of the Ranger's stepped into his headquarters. He didn't even notice the armoured man walking calmly up to him. Why had communications dropped out, he had five encrypted satellite lines and they were impervious to jamming? Damn his disloyal troops. He would travel to Brisbane where the bulk of Chinese forces were located, mount a counter-attack and retake the country within twenty-four hours.
The Ranger punched Zhang in the side of the head with an armoured fist. Zhang’s staff did nothing to intervene. They stood open mouthed with hands held high. None bothered reaching for their weapons. They had all heard the reports on the network. The demons had come for their General, there was no need for them to go to hell for his sins.
Without communications with Canberra, General Fen did what was required of him. His mission had always been to keep a close eye on Zhang for the Central Committee, and to initiate the fail-safe if things went to shit. There was no doubt things had gone to shit from the drone feed he was watching safely from his command vehicle.
To the occasional passer by the non-descript commercial catering van was like any other around these parts. Despite finding Australia traffic laws bizarre Fen ensured it was parked on the correct side of the road in the sleepy inland town of Cooma, a hundred kilometres from Canberra.
Fen didn't believe in demons. The Americans had finally come to the aid of their allies, as he had warned they would. He'd left Canberra the moment his agents reported the attack in Nowra. He didn't want to be anywhere near Canberra when he triggered the two nuclear bombs buried und underneath the Australian Parliament.
Fen's Adjutant wanted to know how they were going to get back to China. ‘Don't you worry,’ Fen chided the junior officer. ‘That's all under control, we have a nice little fishing trawler on the coast waiting for us.’
Fen admired the American's waiting to counterattack until the Chinese were fully committed. He imagined they wanted the Chinese concentrated before they used their special weapons, they obviously did not possesses many of them. Perhaps they were still experimental? At least he would be able to see whether they could withstand a nuclear detonation.
Unfortunately neither Fen nor his Adjutant saw the squad of armoured Ranger's appear on the crest of the ridge.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
ZHANG
Zhang woke with a terrible headache. A Ranger sitting on a chair across from his grinned. ‘Welcome to the future General,’ the man said.
Zhang tried to stand but handcuffs held him in place. ‘Would you allow an old soldier the honour of his handgun and a moment's privacy?’ he asked.
He had no intention of being dragged before a Nuremburg style court.
‘Afraid not General,’ the Ranger replied.
There was a knock at the door and the Ranger stood to open it. The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia entered. He held a baseball bat on his shoulder.
‘General, we have a few things to set straight.’
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
PATROL
The flashing light on the console was initially thought to be a fault in the sensor array. The technicians were baffled. It must be a software fault - surely.
The discharge of a plasma weapon had not been detected for over a thousand years and that area of space was uninhabited. Even pirates avoided it. There was nothing out there except for dust and rock.
Station chief Major Jill Riley ran the records anyway. It was probably a simulation from headquarters checking to see if anyone at the remote police outpost was awake.
That was weird. The records on that area of space were sealed by order of the council four thousand years ago. The last entry said property of the Rangolan Mining Corporation, some mum and dad outfit. The Corporations' sole vessel, a light tug, failed to renew its annual licence and had been presumed lost.
Jill wasn't surprised. The station's AI said that area of space was particularly hazardous, full of black holes and radiation levels amongst the highest in the spiral.
Lieutenant Arthur Harkin and his partner Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Frazer weren't looking forward to being sent on a goose chase. Neither believed a plasma weapon had been discharged. It was likely headquarters were playing another of their jokes.
The worst part about the mission was the amount of manual navigation required. They could not rely entirely on the AI as this region had never been fully surveyed.
‘Couldn't you just send a probe boss?’ Arthur begged Riley.
‘No, regulations require a human response to a plasma weapon incident.’
‘Stuff the regulations,’ Amelia replied. ‘It's a sensor fault.’
Riley nodded. She thought so too but regulations were regulations. ‘Think of it as a navigation exercise.’
Amelia groaned.
Arthur stayed silent. He didn't want another lecture about the importance of the border force investigating all incidents thoroughly.
Mercifully after four days travel there was a region of relatively clear space which allowed the AI to navigate for them.
A day out from the site of the plasma discharge the sensor panel went haywire.
‘What the hell?’ Amelia yelled as lights began to flash and the AI turned on the patrol vessel's shields automatically. ‘Unknown warship approaching.’
It was more than one warship. It was a whole damned squadron. Big bastards too. What were Vofurion frigates doing out here?
‘Look at this,’ Amelia shouted to Arthur.
Arthur walked over to Amelia's station. ‘Woah, that's weird.’
Seven billion humans, that can't be right. He turned to look out the viewport and saw an unassuming small blue planet with a solitary moon. That many on a planet that size? Surely it wasn’t possible.
Amelia made a few adjustments. ‘See, the planet is radiating electromagnetic emissions consistent with a category four primitive society.’
Arthur looked away from the screen. The nearest frigate was hailing them.
‘Heave too, prepare for boarding.’
‘Piss off,’ Arthur radioed back. He'd seen the crest of the Royal House of Akemi on the frigate's bow.
‘You have no jurisdiction over an Invidium Police vessel,’ he added.
There was a pause before the frigate replied.
‘Heave too or you will be fired upon.’
Arthur looked at the frigate through the viewport. Its batteries were open. ‘Target lock,’ the AI screeched.
‘Need I remind you what will happen if you fire at me,’ Arthur said calmly.
Amelia had grown still. ‘You don't think they will, do you?’
‘Of course not,’ Arthur replied. ‘They're families will be executed if they do.’
A laser bolt flashed past metres from the bow.
‘You will not be warned again.’
Arthur frowned. He hadn't expected that. He reached down and pressed a silver button. The frigate's Captain must be stupid.
‘What just happened,’ Captain Jango Roberts of the Akemi Royal Naval frigate Warspite asked his weapons officer?’
‘I'm not sure, sir?’ the officer replied. ‘It just disappeared.’
‘Well find it dammit,’ Roberts screamed.
Arthur navigated his cloaked vessel around the frigates and set a course for the blue planet. Idiots, did the House of Akemi not realise Invidium technology was at least five generations more advanced than their own?
He'd send a report back to headquarters about the Akemi family’s transgressions, firing on an Invidium ship was unacceptable. There would be hell to pay. The Grand Inquisitor
would destroy one of the Akemi’s prized colonies for it.
Arthur logged each of the Akemi warships in orbit around a green planet the AI called Venus. ‘Why would an entire carrier group be out here?’ asked Amelia.
Arthur had no idea. Why hadn't the environmental survey probes detected life in this system? The logs showed a probe passing right through this area only five years ago. Arthur's Invidium training told him there was a cover up going on, and where there was a cover up there was heresy.
‘A data set of seven billion humans would be worth a fortune,’ Amelia said looking up from her screen. Arthur nodded.
‘Um, Arthur,’ Amelia said. ‘I'm getting readings of hundreds of plasma discharges on the surface.’
Arthur consulted the AI. No licences for plasma weapons had ever been granted for this region, and for good reason too. Plasma weapons had been banned since the third Vofurion civil war.
‘Find me their Capital,’ Arthur instructed the AI.
‘Multiple Capitals detected. Five prime factions available,’ the AI replied.
‘Identify prime military faction,’ Arthur said. That was usually a good place to start.
‘Identified,’ the AI stated. ‘Faction name United States of America, capital Washington.’
What a bizarre name thought Arthur.
‘Set course for Washington.’
‘Acknowledged, course set.’
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
WELCOME
Duke was tired of being woken up early because the senior technician thought something was up with Hydra. For the last three days Hydra had been agitated. She was snappy, even with Duke. He put it down to friends getting on each other's nerves. It was just a sign of the depth of Hydra's growing friendship with humans he told the other Generals. She was spending so much time around people she was adopting their behaviours.