Into the War (Rise of the Republic Book 3)

by James Rosone

  “Damn, LT. Phase one, the medical stuff, took us four months to get through,” Yogi griped. “We just finished three months of phase two training. Now we’re going to have three more months of this before we even start phase four, and that block of training is six months?”

  Special Forces school had been hitting a lot of the soldiers hard. Pauli knew this was going to be a tough program. He’d been mentally psyching himself up for the full-on Delta school, which was a thirty-six-month program. The toned-down Ranger training was still sixteen months. The only good thing about the long training program was it meant they weren’t available for any campaigns that might arise—at least not until they were operationally ready to deploy.

  Lieutenant Atkins finished his food and softened his tone a bit as he looked at the young sergeant. “Yogi, I know this is tough. I’m sure everyone is questioning why they signed up for this new unit. But here’s the deal. Whether we like it or not, we humans are stuck in this new war. It’s a war of pure survival or extinction, with little middle ground. None of us wanted this, but here we are. If we don’t figure out a way to win this war, it could mean humanity is either wiped out or enslaved like the Sumerians. Right now, the Republic has been given an incredible gift. You want to know what that gift is?”

  Pauli thought he knew, but he wanted to let Yogi answer this one. He knew his friend had really been struggling the last month or so with everything that had been going on.

  Yogi sighed in frustration and then shook his head to Atkins’s question.

  “We’ve been given time, Yogi—time to prepare for the coming storm. The other day I had the opportunity to sit in on an officer call with the division commander. He’s going through the training with us as well. He told all of us that the Republic was going to go on the offensive. We aren’t going to sit around and wait for the Zodarks to attack us and we aren’t going to fight battles that won’t lead us closer to victory against the Zodarks. When the division completes our training, we’re going to go liberate the Sumerian home world. Their planet sits in a star system that leads down a dead-end star chain, according to the stargate maps. Our intelligence tells us there are close to a dozen habitable planets and moons down that chain. We also learned there are five planets with humans on them—all slave planets to the Zodarks. We’re going to go liberate them and add them to the Republic.”

  Atkins paused for a moment as he let Yogi take in what he’d shared. “I know the training is tough, Yogi. But we’ve all survived multiple orbital assaults. We’ll get through this too. Now, you guys figure out what training your squad members want to complete and have a list ready by tomorrow evening. We start the new training phase on Monday. Once it’s completed, the platoon will re-form back up, and we’ll complete the final phase of training before we’re deployable.”

  *******

  New Eden

  Fort Roughneck

  1st Ranger Division

  “That’s a lot of Cougars,” the staff officer commented.

  The front ramp of the T-92 Starlifter had lowered as two columns of the new infantry fighting vehicles drove off. The drivers parked them in neat rows along the parking ramp. They’d be inventoried and checked for damage and then driven over to their new units.

  Brigadier General William Darby stood on the flight line with his hands on his hips as he watched the large cargo transport being offloaded. For the last month, they had been receiving their long-awaited shipment of vehicles and the new infantry assault rifles.

  The venerable M85 rifles were being phased out for the newest version, the M1. A new century had dawned since the last rifle had been created, so the designers had started over with a new model number. The M1 was still equipped with the over-under barrel like its predecessor; the big improvements to the rifle came down to its increased hitting power and size. The new rifle was going to be four inches smaller. The blaster now had a stun setting, and the magrail had an increased power option designed to penetrate the Orbots’ body armor and the newly improved Zodark armor.

  The biggest change coming to the Rangers and the Army in general, however, was definitely the new Cougars. The DN-12 modular infantry assault vehicle was going to give the Army a lot of flexibility they currently didn’t have. Mainly, it would allow them to become more independent of the fleet instead of relying on it to move them from point to point.

  When the war with the Zodarks had begun, the military hadn’t really had a combined arms function. The vehicles and weapons they’d had had been built to fight each other, not conquer and capture foreign planets and deal with the Zodarks. The drawn-out fight to capture New Eden and then the immense reliance on the fleet for the Intus campaign had really laid bare the inadequacies of the Army.

  “You ready to head back to the office, sir?” asked the staff officer as the last vehicle drove off the transport.

  General Darby turned to the young lieutenant. “Yeah, let’s head back. I’ve seen what I wanted to see.”

  Ten minutes later, they arrived at the building that constituted the division headquarters building. When Darby walked in, he saw that General Ross McGinnis was waiting for him.

  “Ah, there you are, General. Someone told me you went down to the flight line,” McGinnis commented as Darby and his staff officer walked in.

  Darby would normally be surprised to see McGinnis waiting in his office, but the staff NCO had sent a message ahead to let them know he was waiting there for them.

  “Just checking on some of the new equipment coming in. What can I do for you today?”

  “I wanted to talk with you about the coming Sumer campaign,” said McGinnis. “We’re less than six months out. How do you feel your divisions are coming along?”

  Darby took a seat as he answered, “They’ll be ready. I think these new weapons and equipment are going to make a difference.”

  “Let’s hope so,” said McGinnis. “We honestly have no idea if the Sumerian people are going to be hostile to our presence and side with the Zodarks or side with us. Things could get real ugly if they choose the former.”

  “What do we know about the planet? Do we have eyes on it yet or intelligence from the surface?”

  McGinnis shook his head. “Not yet. The Deltas are going to be landing a team on the surface soon. We’ll have a better idea of what’s going on once they arrive.”

  “Any idea when that’ll happen?” asked Darby, leaning forward.

  “They’re spinning up a team for it right now,” McGinnis replied. “I suspect they’ll leave soon to start their recon. I think they’re taking one or more of the original Sumerians we liberated on this planet with them as local guides. I suspect they’ll need to get them trained up and then they’ll head out.”

  Darby nodded. The more information they had on the planet, the people residing there, and any possible enemy resistance that might await them on the surface, the better prepared they’d be to handle them.

  “Sounds like a plan, General. I suppose we’ll continue to get ourselves ready on this end. Do you know how big an operation this will be?”

  McGinnis smiled. “Big. We’re bringing the entire Third Army on this one. Once we liberate Sumer, we’ll planet-hop down the entire chain until we’ve secured all the habitable planets along the way. From there, we’ll establish a new series of forward outposts and begin fortifying the stargates and the systems against counterattack.”

  Darby grinned at the news. Finally, a mission worth dying for—a campaign that’ll actually make a difference in the overall war effort.

  Chapter Twenty

  Behind Enemy Lines

  New Eden

  Fort Roughneck

  Alpha Company “Ghosts”

  Captain Brian Royce reviewed the company roster and selected the five individuals who’d be coming with him on this mission. Technically, he should be sending one of his lieutenants—he was, after all, the company CO. But Major Hopper hadn’t shot down his plan to go himself, so he was all in. Truthfully, Royce proba
bly had more experience in Special Forces than damn near anyone in the battalion, so it made sense for him to lead this mission. It could also end up turning into a first-contact event, so having someone with a bit of rank would help.

  Next, Royce scanned the battalion personnel files, searching for one particular individual. Ah, there you are, he thought. Hosni—well, he’s now officially Lieutenant Hosni.

  Hosni was one of the original Sumerian prisoners they’d liberated on New Eden a little more than twelve years ago. Following his multiyear debriefing, Space Command had given him a couple of choices. He could attend any university he wanted in order to learn about Earth and go on about his life as a regular civilian, or he could join the military and help liberate his people from the Zodarks.

  Hosni had chosen the hard path. He had told Admiral Bailey and Chancellor Luca he’d like to serve the Republic and do whatever he could to liberate the Sumerian people. After making that difficult decision, he’d been sent to Space Academy in Colorado Springs. After four years at the Academy, Hosni had opted to go the Army route, as opposed to the fleet route. He’d spent a year learning to become an intelligence officer, then Big Army had sent him to learn psyops. Following the schools the Army had wanted him to attend, Hosni had applied to and been accepted to Special Forces.

  For the next three years, Hosni had gone through selection, then the medical augmentations and enhancements before he’d completed all of his necessary qualifications. His service jacket showed he’d just been assigned to the 4th Special Forces Group a few weeks ago. It was a very long and hard road Hosni had chosen to follow, but now he was about to put all those skills to good use.

  Royce made a note to have Lieutenant Hosni summoned to his office ASAP. He also clued Major Hopper in on the request so he could be present as well. Next, Royce found two other individuals perfect for the mission, Private Beth Chandler and Corporal Iris Wells.

  Royce didn’t have a lot of women in his company. Heck, the battalion didn’t have a lot of women in it as a whole. Most but not all women pursued service in the fleet. Flying starships around the galaxy seemed to generally be more appealing than being a soldier. Being a Delta versus a regular Army soldier, well, that was an entirely different breed of woman who wanted to pursue that path.

  Using his neurolink, Royce summoned the two women to his office. He also told his first sergeant and his XO to join him for the meeting. Royce’s XO, a woman as well, was tough as nails and knew how to soldier well.

  It was time to get his leadership team brought up to speed on this new mission and the fact that he was going to be gone for an extended period of time. It meant his XO was going to have to step up and take charge for a while. This was a good opportunity to prove she was ready to take command of her own company.

  *******

  “At ease. Please take a seat,” Captain Royce said to the two female soldiers standing in front of him.

  As they sat, Royce pulled up an image of the Sumerian home world, Sumer. “I’ve summoned you both because you’ve been selected for a top secret mission,” he announced. “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you this will be easy; it’s going to be a tough mission, and there’s a chance some or all of us may not come back. That said, this mission is crucial to the war effort.”

  The two soldiers looked at each other with a twinkle of excitement in their eyes and then back at him. “We’re ready, sir. What’s the mission?”

  Royce smiled at their eagerness. They don’t care what it is, they want in.

  “We’re going to insert a recon team on Sumer. You, along with three others, will be on the team, which I’ll be leading. We’re going deep behind enemy lines with no help from the fleet or anyone else. I need to know now if either of you has any hesitation. I’m making this a voluntary mission. You do not need to come if you feel someone else might be a better fit.”

  Both soldiers shook their heads. They were on board; they wanted in.

  Royce smiled. “OK, good. Then I’m glad to have you on this mission. We’re only gonna have five Deltas on this mission and a couple of terminators. I’ll be relying on you ladies a lot. So, right now, I want you both to go next door and spend the next several hours reading over the mission brief.

  “Private Chandler, as the mission coms specialist, effective tomorrow, you will spend a week at a different base, learning a new coms system we will take with us on this mission. I need you to learn everything you can about this new coms gadget. Make sure you know how to troubleshoot it, take it apart and fix it or whatever else you think you need to know. If the coms system breaks, you’ll need to know how to fix it. It’s going to be our only way to communicate once we’re on the ground. If it goes down, our mission is essentially over. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir. You can count on me,” she replied crisply.

  Captain Royce turned to the other female soldier. “Corporal Iris Wells, I understand from your service jacket you have a knack with languages?”

  “Yes, sir. I studied linguistics in college. I’m fluent in six languages on Earth, to include Arabic and many of its different dialects. I also have a working understanding of the Sumerian language, which we now understand is a variant of ancient Chaldean. It’s related to Arabic, Amharic, and Hebrew, which I’m already fluent in,” she explained without hesitation.

  “Damn, that’s impressive, Corporal,” Royce replied. “I can barely speak English, and you’ve got me bested with six other languages. I truly do marvel at folks like you who can understand so many different languages.”

  Her cheeks flushed slightly. “My father and mother were diplomats, so I grew up living in embassies around the Middle East and in the Balkans. I guess it just comes naturally to me.”

  “I like it. In any case, you’re going to have one of the toughest jobs on this mission. You and two other people on our team will be our linguists. While I think we have a solid working understanding of their language and our universal translators can generally understand what they’re saying, we’re going to be bringing two native speakers with us. Once they’re read on to the mission, you will be teamed up with them during our train-up. I want you conversing with them in their native tongue nonstop. I need you to develop a flawless working knowledge of Sumerian. You need to be able to speak it fluently in their midst, because in all likelihood, the three of you will be doing the recons of the Sumerian planet. You’re going to be our eyes once we’re on the ground. Understand?”

  Corporal Wells lifted her head a bit as she suddenly realized the implications. They weren’t just going down to the planet to observe from a remote location—he was sending her in amongst them.

  “I understand, sir. I’ve been casually studying the language for a while, but I’ll dig into it now. If I’m not mistaken, I believe we just had a Sumerian join the battalion. A Lieutenant Hosni?” she inquired.

  Royce nodded. “You are correct; we did. I haven’t seen Hosni in years, but I know him. I was on New Eden when we liberated him. As a matter of fact, once he’s been read on to the mission, he’ll be coming with us. The two of you will have plenty of time to talk and improve your language skills.”

  Captain Royce paused for a moment before dismissing the two soldiers. He still needed to meet with Hosni and then convince the brass that he really needed to take Hadad as well.

  *******

  The following day, Royce was walking back to his office when he saw a lieutenant standing nearby, waiting for him. As he approached, the lieutenant snapped to attention.

  “Lieutenant Hosni, reporting as ordered.”

  “At ease, Lieutenant. Come on in,” Royce said as he led the two of them into his office. “You caught me coming back from lunch.”

  Captain Royce walked around his desk and took a seat. He didn’t think Hosni remembered him. Heck, it had been nearly eleven years since they’d last seen each other.

  “Lieutenant, we met many years ago. Back then, I was a master sergeant. I was part of the team that liberated you from
the Zodark camp.”

  The lieutenant smiled slightly. “I thought I recognized the name, but I didn’t want to assume. With all the recent battles and the high casualties, I wasn’t sure if you had made it. I’m glad you have.”

  Royce shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not for lack of effort on the part of the Zodarks or the Orbots, I’ll tell you that. But, yes, I’m glad to still be alive and kicking.”

  Hosni chuckled at the comment. “I’m glad you’re still alive. I had hoped I’d get to see you and Major Hopper again. I still remember talking with you guys after we boarded the Voyager. You asked me if I wanted to be a soldier like you and liberate my people. Well, it took me longer than expected, but here I am.”

  Royce smiled at that memory from so long ago. “I’m glad to have you here, Hosni,” he replied. “Hey, when it’s just us—please, call me Brian. Now, back to why I called you here. I’m putting together a deep reconnaissance mission, and I need you on it. I know this will be your first real Delta mission. Still, I need your language abilities and your background as a Sumerian for this particular mission.”

  Hosni nodded as he took in the information.

  Royce continued, “Our team is going to insert on the Sumerian home world. It will be a small team, roughly six of us. We will be on our own and deep behind enemy lines for an extended period of time. Are you ready for something like this?”

  Hosni smiled. “I am. But you do remember that I was a slave to a Zodark NOS, right? I have never been to Sumer, and I know nothing about the planet or its people.”

  “That’s true, but you’re still a native speaker of the language. You also have a deeper understanding of the Zodarks than anyone else I know. We will need that. Our mission is to scout certain areas of the planet to find Zodark facilities and any planetary defensive weapons. We Earthers may not know what they look like if they don’t match what we’ve seen on Intus and Rass. We also need to locate a suitable drop zone for the assault force that’ll allow us to capture and secure key government and military installations quickly.