Stand or Fall (The Omega War Book 4)

by Kevin Ikenberry

  “You heard me, Major Lurne.”

  “Acknowledged,” Lurne replied with something like pride in her voice. The promotion was most unexpected. The transmission cleared, and she looked over her squad of reconnaissance troops. All were anxious and ready for battle. They cradled their weapons and maintained the perimeter security flawlessly. She clicked her jaw twice, and all twelve female mercenaries turned to look at her. Lurne twitched her head and let her antennae bounce with laughter. “Who wants Human for dinner?”

  * * *

  Aboard the Shendil-ya

  Above New Persia

  Drehnayl watched her ships descend toward the surface of New Persia. In orbit, her cruisers spun up their weapons systems and prepared to fire. The troop-carrying transports were already far ahead and lower, accelerating over the sandy deserts toward Tal-al Badr. She breathed slowly, focusing her mind on the task at hand and not letting bloodlust dull her senses. There would be a time for the complete loss of control, a time to exult in the blood of her enemies, but command and control of the situation meant that she, above all her warriors, must maintain her presence and bearing.

  “Landing sequence initiated,” the lead transports’ commander called over the command frequency. Within one minute, two thousand armored troops would skitter from the ships and take their positions alongside the reconnaissance elements to the west of the settlement. Two minutes later, the second transport would position its troops on the reverse slope of a hill to the settlement’s south. Once they were in position, artillery would fall from the sky. The temptation to eliminate the settlement from orbit had been strong, but Drehnayl wanted the Humans to see them coming. She wanted anyone who came to investigate the damage to see that everything had been done in accordance with the Union’s regulations. Moreover, she wanted the Humans to see the face of their conquerors.

  “Infantry deployed in all positions.” The call shook her from her thoughts. Drehnayl looked up at her helmsman.

  “Initial point. Fifteen seconds to bombardment.”

  Her weapons officer continued the litany. “Weapons armed and primary targets selected.”

  “Exterior bay doors opening now,” Colonel Chee replied.

  Nyalla called, “Humans have sounded alerts, and they are deploying weapons systems.”

  A fusillade of laser fire came up from the settlement. The amount of fire surprised and impressed Drehnayl. Automated fire control systems clearly protected the sleepy little settlement, but they were too little, too late.

  “Target all laser batteries with secondary weapons.”

  “Engaged!” Nyalla replied.

  “Cleared to fire,” Chee said. Her voice was low but focused. There was no point in discussing her attitudes and beliefs now. There would be a time to confront her superior but during combat was not it.

  Drehnayl leaned against her harness. “Commence firing.”

  The Shendil-ya shuddered as her weapons fired. The wall of Human laser fire wavered and collapsed within a matter of seconds. Thousands of bomblets fell through the atmosphere toward the settlement and littered the sand with resonating explosions. In the streets, the Humans scattered like Altar. A few raised handheld weapons, but the rest panicked and ran into domiciles and structures which soon felt the brunt of the MinSha attack.

  “Commit the infantry!” Drehnayl watched her forces swarm over the surrounding hills and charge at full speed into the settlement. Smoke swirled up and obscured her view as her cruiser struggled against the upper edge of the planet’s gravity. “Prepare secondary barrage!”

  “Barrage prepared.”

  There was a harsh burst of static from the command frequency. “Mines! The Humans have deployed—”

  Along the outskirts of the settlement, a fusillade of explosions roared up from the sand. Scores of MinSha fell. Through the swirling dust, Drehnayl saw the sandy soil littered with the shattered bodies of her infantry.

  Drehnayl roared. “Kill everything that moves! No quarter and no mercy!”

  “Taking fire from secondary Human weapons systems,” Chee called. “Autotargeting engaged.”

  “Preparing to boost,” the helmsman called. The Shendil-ya couldn’t hover for long. The gunnery frigate, ten kilometers behind, would have no such trouble.

  Drehnayl pointed at Nyalla. “Order the Flulear to eliminate the settlement.”

  “Orders relayed,” the young operations officer replied. Her antennae were calm unlike those of her console-mate. Colonel Chee looked pensive, and her antennae slumped. “The Flulear is preparing to deploy weapons. They are three minutes out.”

  “Recall the infantry, Chee. Ensure they clear our wounded and damaged equipment from the field.”

  “Initiating recall,” Chee replied. “We’ve taken fifteen hundred casualties. More than sixty percent of those are deaths.”

  “We’ve caused more than that, Chee,” Drehnayl chittered. “This was an acceptable loss.”

  For a moment, her executive officer’s antenna wavered, then slowly stood erect. Chee met her eyes. “Acceptable for us, maybe. But when the Humans investigate this loss, and they find our soldiers, there will be no question who was at fault.”

  “I don’t care about fault, Chee, and neither should you. Our orders are clear. We are to eliminate Human settlements meeting General Peepo’s criteria. We must sterilize any settlement openly supporting the Four Horsemen. Clear our soldier’s bodies from the field. Leave no trace, and we scare humanity into submission. The Mercenary Guild will use the fear we create to turn the rest of the Union to their cause. We will have the advantage, because the Humans will distrust all other species. Their fear will subvert them. Humanity is meant to be governed and controlled. All we have to do is show them the folly of their ways. The galaxy is a dangerous place, and peace is not possible without control.”

  Chee did not respond, nor did she look away. “I believe you’re wrong, General. Humans have shown incredible resilience, and some of them,” she paused for effect, “have created bridges between species that may not be broken by General Peepo’s desperate war.”

  “There is nothing desperate about this conflict, Chee.”

  “Then why eliminate Humans?” Chee asked. “You use violence to control them, but I’m afraid you’ve miscalculated, General. Their anger will overtake their fear. Against a known enemy, humanity has shown it will band together and stand.”

  Drehnayl laughed. “Your insolence is only superseded by your naivety, Chee.”

  Chee shook her head. “You know the truth, but you are unwilling to see it, General.”

  “And just what is that, Colonel Chee?” Drehnayl replied. The bridge was quiet. External cameras showed the Flulear hammering the settlement from above.

  “Humans will not give in to pressure.”

  “Nonsense,” Drehnayl chittered. “I suggest you use our remaining time in this system to determine what destroyed those Human cities. I want to know who did it and why. No one takes my bounty without a fight.”

  “And if there is no immediate indicators? No actionable intelligence?” Chee asked.

  “We continue our mission to the next target world, Chee. And the next. And the one following. We will cause humanity’s capitulation through their own fear. They are dangerous and must be controlled; tamed, as it were.”

  Chee’s antennae waggled in disagreement. “As long as one of them is willing to lead the charge, the rest will follow.”

  “I can forgive your contradictory opinions, Chee, but I believe you give the Four Horsemen far too much credit. They cannot save humanity,” Drehnayl mocked. She knew there was no way for Humans to do anything but grovel for their miserable lives in the coming cycles.

  “I wasn’t talking about them, General.” Chee looked back at her display as the Shendil-ya climbed back to orbit.

  Drehnayl sat in silence, watching the swirling clouds of choking, black smoke rising into New Persia’s atmosphere. As a youngling, she’d heard stories of those first engage
ments in Iran and imagined herself being there as the galaxy changed. Although she’d initially had no doubts about the mission, as her battle fervor cooled and she pondered Chee’s words, she started to wonder if she’d inadvertently recreated the scenario. Then she pushed those feelings aside. Chee was wrong. The Humans needed to be destroyed, and she knew it.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Two

  Peacemaker Barracks

  Dryod Four

  Returning to the Peacemaker barracks at Dryod Four as a lieutenant was more anticlimactic than life-changing for Jessica Francis. She’d long held the opinion that organizations, especially the outstanding ones, operated with minimal disruptions from promotions, losses, or changes of ownership. The Peacemaker Guild should be no different. As a mercenary, she’d seen companies fail with minute changes in leadership. As she returned carrying a new rank and a load of responsibility, her peers would notice, but ultimately, they understood the Guild always moved forward. Proof came as she exited Guild Master Rsach’s private yacht and came face-to-face with her former commander, Lieutenant Pt-dah. The Jeha officer merely nodded and welcomed her back to the barracks, calling her by her first name, without a shred of pretense or ceremony. That, Jessica decided, was good enough for her. She’d half-heartedly expected some type of media coverage, but there was nothing of the sort.

  Turns out war was a much better story for the Earth media to follow.

  Quarantine had been an interesting experience, to say the least. Given the freedom to do anything she wanted—except go outside the Peacemaker barracks—gave Jessica hours to exercise and recover from her injuries between additional training and intelligence briefings. For the first two weeks, her treatment bordered on relatively benign physical therapy on her regenerated leg tissue and restoring full motion and strength to her damaged shoulder. Restored to good health by the best physicians in the galaxy and a considerable haul of medicinal products from Weqq, she’d returned to her normal routine by the start of the third week…in time to spend multiple hours a day in briefings. Outside of the things her guild wanted her to know, Jessica spent hours poring over additional reports on the Four Horsemen and their orders of battle and tactics, techniques, and procedures.

  When she’d covered all she could, she’d turned her intelligence gathering skills to finding her father, but there was nothing, and Tara Mason had disappeared. In her frustration, she’d grown impatient with the artificial lighting and canned air of the barracks. She longed to go outside, but there was no way to do so without letting the galaxy know she was on Dryod Four instead of deployed. Subterfuge was necessary for her next mission, but there was no indication of when she’d finally be set free from quarantine and deployed.

  Twenty days into quarantine, she walked into the Peacemaker Operations Center and found Lieutenant Pt-Dah speaking to a tall, muscular Besquith. The wolf-like alien’s fur was obsidian black and his eyes were narrow and eternally chilling. She recognized him immediately. Pt-Dah nodded in her direction, and the Besquith turned its head to her and grinned, exposing a mouthful of sharp teeth. His cold black eyes sparkled in recognition.

  “If it isn’t my best student,” Captain Dreel rumbled with laughter. He stepped toward her and opened his arms. The idea of embracing a Besquith wasn’t something most Humans could wrap their minds around. The two-meter tall wolf was something from most people’s childhood nightmares, but in Dreel’s case, he had been her favorite instructor at Peacemaker U, and he’d been instrumental in preparing her for her mission to intercept Lemieux’s Marauders. That he was on Dryod Four, undoubtedly to prepare her for her next mission, eased her frustrations.

  Jessica bounced forward and wrapped her arms around her friend and mentor. “I’m so glad to see you, sir.”

  “As am I,” Dreel rumbled. They separated after a moment. His eyes roved over her for a bit, and, when he spoke, there was more than a hint of pride in his bass voice. “Lieutenant Francis. I’m afraid you’ve cost me a thousand credits to Hak-Chet. I was off on the date of your promotion to lieutenant by more than a year.”

  Jessica blushed and swept her hair away from her face as she looked up at him. “I’m glad everyone other than me has such a good idea of where I’m headed.”

  “You have succeeded beyond our wildest imagination, Lieutenant.” Dreel nodded at Pt-Dah. “We’ve gathered the final bits of intelligence for you, and I’m here on the orders of Guild Master Rsach to personally brief you. Your mission is classified at the highest level. Lieutenant Pt-Dah has seen to it we won’t be disturbed. Once we are done, you’ll be ready for immediate deployment. I trust you have your bags packed?”

  “Always, sir,” Jessica nodded.

  Here we go, Jess.

  “Good,” Dreel replied. “Because the situation is much worse than you know.”

  Compared to Araf and Weqq, it can’t be that bad, can it? Jessica thought of Earth under siege by the Mercenary Guild. Oh, no.

  “Lieutenant Pt-Dah? Would you excuse us?”

  “Certainly, sir.” The Jeha bowed stiffly, contorting in more ways than Jessica thought possible before bowing out the door and sealing Jessica and her instructor inside. Dreel said nothing for a moment. He reached inside the dark blue combat vest he wore over his large, fur-covered chest and brought out a small cube Jessica recognized from her training. Dreel activated the device and waited until three green dots flashed before he leaned forward and touched a clawed digit to his maw and grinned. The Human gesture looked positively evil on the Besquith.

  The elSha listening-device detector scanned every centimeter of the room on multiple frequencies at the same time. As it found weaknesses, it filled those frequencies with harsh white noise and simultaneously dampened vibrations. In sixty seconds, they were as secure as possible. “The walls have ears, Jessica. Even here.”

  Jessica nodded. “Loose lips sink ships and all that, right?”

  Dreel grinned. “More or less. You do realize you are still wanted by the Mercenary Guild?”

  So that’s part of this. Dammit.

  “Yes, sir. I’d hoped they would rescind that order after what happened on Weqq,” Jessica said. “I guess all I managed to do was piss them off even more.”

  “Well put,” Dreel said. “Yes, the Mercenary Guild leadership is not happy with you. We’re told the price on your head is now twenty million credits, which is precisely why you’ve been placed in quarantine. We’ve transmitted a likeness of you on every outbound ship for the last three days. You’ll depart here in an hour and we’ll keep up the ruse for three more days. Hopefully, that will give you enough of a head start.”

  Jessica sucked in a breath. The Peacemaker Guild was doing more than she’d imagined to ensure her safety. Promoting her to Lieutenant made any attempt on her life a guild-level crime. Given that the Mercenary Guild still offered a bounty for her, they played from a position of perceived authority and power, which was exactly what Guild Master Rsach wanted. Cockiness, as he’d say, led to destruction more times than not.

  “Where am I headed?”

  “Pursuit,” Dreel said. “Do you know who Lieutenant General Chinayl of the MinSha is?”

  “She’s the MinSha representative to the Mercenary Guild council. General Peepo’s operations officer, of sorts,” Jessica said.

  “That’s her.” Dreel frowned. The result was an extremely sinister look. His discomfort chilled Jessica to the bones. “On Peepo’s orders, we believe Chinayl has hired her clutch-sister, Major General Drehnayl, for the sole purpose of attacking and eliminating Human settlements in the Rim territories. Drehnayl commands a fleet of six vessels and about eleven thousand infantry and, like Chinayl, she has nothing but contempt for Humans.”

  Jessica frowned. “I thought Weqq might have changed a few opinions.”

  “You did great things there, Jessica, make no mistake.” Dreel put a heavy, clawed hand on her shoulder. “You created allies from enemies and brought the TriRusk back into the fold. You may never change the
minds of all the MinSha, but what matters is you made some of them change. Remember that.”

  Jessica felt a swelling of pride in her tightened throat. “I’ll try, sir.”

  “You’ll do much better than try, Lieutenant Francis.” Dreel’s tone was serious and low. “I’m afraid Drehnayl and her forces may have already destroyed the Human settlements on New Persia in the Torgero system. I opened the intelligence packet delivered to the gate today via Blue Flight. I’m afraid the planet is a total loss. The damage, however, is inconsistent. It appears someone razed the major cities with a type of nuclear weapon. One settlement, Tal-al-Badr, exhibits a different damage pattern—one consistent with a ground fight. Over five thousand Humans were killed. We need to confirm the MinSha are behind this attack.”

  Jessica bit the inside of her lip. The Blue Flight was a classified Peacemaker Guild delivery system. Even with her rank and newfound responsibility, she still did not have the need to know all the specifics on Blue Flight. Rumors among the students at Peacemaker U was it could get through hyperspace faster than the 170-hour standard flight.

  Focus, Jess! Jessica mentally slapped herself. In her rising fury she no longer cared about something as trivial as Peacemaker rumors. Lives had been lost. “Why that colony?”

  “That’s what is so troubling, Jessica. Gate records showed Nigel Shirazi and Asbaran Solutions completed a recruiting trip through the system in the days prior to the attack. They engaged and destroyed three MinSha vessels as they left the system. They took virtually all the Human males of fighting age and physical ability with them. Apparently, they took the bulk of the technology they found in the maintenance depot as well. Sometime after they departed, all the major population centers were ravaged with nuclear weapons. One settlement was spared that fate but was wiped out by something else. If it was Drehnayl’s forces, they rolled in on the settlement of Tal-al Badr and took heavy losses. The settlement has been silent ever since, and the gate master banned all landings on the planet. That’s why we are sending you.”