Final Conflict

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Sergeant Pepper, take your platoon in,” ordered Lieutenant Adams. “Search that tower floor by floor. Sergeant Styles, secure the perimeter to ensure no armed conscripts can get to us. I still feel they have to be around here somewhere.”

  Immediately Sergeant Pepper and his platoon drew their energy lances and headed toward the two doors leading into the tower. The energy lances put out a bluish color and were capable of penetrating any known metal. These new and more deadly lances were an improvement over the older ones which could not penetrate some substances.

  -

  Privates Evans and Bose were the first ones through the shattered doors of the tower. Going inside they found the bottom floor full of smoke and the bodies of several Promar Five inhabitants. The people of Promar Five resembled Humans but were thinner with very little hair on their heads. They had no eyebrows and their noses were wider.

  “Conscripts,” said Bose, shoving one with his armored foot to make sure the being was dead. All had been armed with energy rifles.

  “We’ve got some dead conscripts in here,” Private Evans reported over the comm as more Marines came in through the doors and began spreading out.

  Sergeant Pepper came over and examined several of the bodies. “No sign of any Kleese. They’re probably on one of the top floors.”

  Private Bose swung his energy lance in front of him and gestured toward a wide set of stairs. “Let’s go up and see what’s there.”

  “I’m sending a squad with you,” said Sergeant Pepper. “If you encounter any resistance contact me and I’ll send up another squad.”

  “And if we encounter any Kleese?” asked Bose still brandishing his energy lance.

  “Kill them,” answered Sergeant Pepper coldly. “We don’t take any Kleese captive.”

  Private Bose nodded. He had killed a few Kleese in previous missions. He would enjoy killing a few more after what they had done to the Human race in the past. There was no love lost between Humans and Kleese. There never had been and there never would be. “Let’s go,” said Bose, heading up the stairs.

  Evans followed close behind followed by Corporal Stokes and six more Marines.

  The group slowly made their way upward searching each floor as they went. All they found were dead conscripts lying near the windows where they had died. Reaching the top two floors they prepared themselves, expecting to finally come across some Kleese. Blowing the heavy doors open with explosives they rushed in with energy lances raised ready to strike. With surprise they stopped and looked around. There were only a few dead conscripts and no Kleese.

  “Where are they?” said Private Bose, his voice tinged with disappointment.

  Corporal Stokes stepped forward and looked out the shattered windows. “They were never here,” he said. “If they were, they must have escaped in an assault ship when the fleet first arrived. Or they could have been in the two assault ships hit with the kinetic strikes.”

  “What now?” asked Evans as he turned off his energy lance and placed it back in its holder at his waist.

  “We go back downstairs and make our report. The Alliance fleet will be here shortly and pacifying the rest of this world will be up to them. Our part in this is finished.”

  All the other Marines turned off their energy lances. Anytime there was possible hand-to-hand combat with the Kleese, the energy lances were the preferred weapon.

  -

  Lieutenant Adams listened to the reports coming in. There were no Kleese in the control tower and a careful search of the other buildings and ships on the spaceport had come up empty as well. It was disappointing in one way and a relief in another. Normally when Kleese were involved there were large numbers of conscripts and the fighting would have been much heavier. The absence of Kleese explained why there had been so few conscripts protecting the spaceport. When the Kleese left they most likely took their conscripts with them for protection.

  “So, now what?” asked Sergeant Styles. He had just returned from supervising the search of a number of cargo ships sitting on the blastcrete. They were empty with no crews on board.

  Lieutenant Adams looked upward. She knew the fleet was orbiting the planet. “We wait for the Alliance forces to arrive. They’ll take over and contact the planetary government or whoever seems to be in charge now that the Kleese are gone. Some cargo ships with the fleet will place defensive satellites in orbit. Hopefully in a year or two Promar Five will join the Alliance.” Adams knew it was not as simple as that. After years of indoctrination and living in fear of the Kleese, it would take great effort on the part of the Alliance to bring the planet around. Promar Five was a very advanced world and could play an important role in the Alliance someday.

  Sergeant Styles looked over where two Marines were examining a destroyed pop-up weapon. “I guess we return home now?”

  Lieutenant Adams nodded. “That’s the plan. We’re to be rotated out with another Marine company. We’ve served our time for now. It’s time to go back home and get some well deserved rest.” Lieutenant Adams’ Marines had been involved in combat on seven worlds. Nearly thirty percent of her Marines had been lost in the battles. The price of removing the Kleese and their conscripts from planets was always expensive.

  -

  Captain Avery listened as reports from the surface continued to come in. So far no Kleese had been found. Lieutenant Adams believed they had fled in an assault ship when the Human fleet was first detected.

  “It appears the Kleese have escaped us,” Avery said to Commander Brannon. “All ground units report no contact with any of the enemy.”

  Commander Brannon frowned at hearing this. “There’s a large Kleese trading station about two hundred light years distant. No doubt they have fled there.”

  “Out of our reach,” replied Avery’, feeling frustrated the Kleese had escaped. In recent years the Kleese had heavily armed all of their remaining trading stations and they were protected by large fleets of warships. To attack one would involve losses the Alliance could ill afford. “All resistance on the planet should be over in another few hours. Once the Alliance ships start to land we can recall our people and head back to the Solar System.”

  Commander Brannon nodded. “When we return another assault fleet will be sent out. I believe the Alliance has located four more star systems they want to free from the Kleese before the year’s out.”

  This didn’t surprise Captain Avery. There was considerable concern about what the Kleese might be building in their core worlds. For nearly thirty years now the Alliance along with Earth had steadily been pushing the Kleese back from the outer fringes of their Empire. The members of the Alliance felt they needed to expand as rapidly as possible before the Kleese brought sufficient forces to bear to stop them. Many member worlds were surprised it hadn’t happened already.

  “Rear Admiral Haden plans on us leaving late tomorrow,” added Brannon. “He wants to make sure the Alliance has a firm hand on everything before our fleet withdraws.”

  This pleased Captain Avery. It had been nearly seven months since any of his Marines had been home. He was curious to see what Earth looked like. For the last few years the planet had been undergoing terraforming using some of the advanced science from the Alliance worlds. When Avery had been at Centerpoint Station last he had actually seen gaps in the heavy cloud layer over the planet. Someday the Human race might just be able to resettle their home world.

  -

  The next morning Lieutenant Adams walked up the ramp of one of the assault ships waiting for her Marines to board. Stepping inside she went over to an alcove and pressed a large green button on the side of it. Instantly magnetic clamps came down, holding the battlesuit in place and then the helmet rose up and the suit opened down the center allowing her to step out. She shivered slightly as she was only dressed in very light garments. This allowed the sensors in the suit to monitor her body during combat and take whatever medical procedures were necessary if she was injured.

  Adams went over to a l
ocker, took out her uniform, and then headed for the showers. Once she was cleaned up, she would head to her quarters and write her after action report. This would be the last combat mission she would be going on for a while. Her next assignment was a training one. She was to report to Centerpoint Station to help train the next generation of Marines. It was an assignment she was looking forward to. It was also much safer than being out in the field fighting the Kleese and their conscripts.

  Chapter Two

  Nine thousand light years away from Earth was the Kleese home world. The Kleese planet orbited a small K Class star slightly cooler than Earth’s. The sun was yellow-orange in color with twelve planets orbiting it. The fourth planet was nearly devoid of life due to the violent early years of the Kleese civilization and the wars they had fought for dominance of the planet. Much of the planet had been laid to waste from the weapons used in those conflicts. When the wars finally ended, only one faction of the Kleese race survived. The others had all been eliminated and their nests destroyed. The Kleese were egg layers and females laid multiple eggs in their nests. Great pain had been taken by the winning faction to make sure all the nests and Queens of their enemies were eliminated.

  Deep in the heart of the Kleese Empire the Kleese Council of Overlords were meeting. There were twenty Kleese, the most powerful of their cruel race who were members of the council. Advancement on the council was done through open challenges and, if the council agreed the challenge was legitimate, a battle to the death was arranged. If the challenger won they would take over the council seat of the slain Overlord.

  The Kleese looked like giant arachnids but had a large hair covered upper body which rose up into the air with a large triangular shaped head and strange looking multifaceted eyes. Two nearly black arms extended from the upper chest ending in what looked to be hands with seven long thin digits. The Kleese were large with their body and six legs reaching nearly eight feet in width and six feet in height.

  -

  Supreme Overlord Xatul stood near a large open window gazing out over the capital city. It had been fully rebuilt from the Humans’ devastating attack years in the past. Millions of Kleese worked day and night keeping the Empire functioning. The capital city spread out over one hundred kilometers and was inhabited by ten million Kleese. They performed the tasks needed to run an empire nearly eighteen thousand light years across and comprised of thousands of worlds. Towering buildings reached for the sky and massive structures which covered entire city blocks controlled the Empire. The architecture was harsh and brutal with no care for aesthetics. The city served a purpose and one purpose only: to rule and expand the Empire.

  “The Alliance continues to make gains in the outer territories,” reported Bixutl who was the second most powerful Overlord. “I received word today Promar Five has fallen and the Kleese there have fallen back to the trading station in Sector Four.”

  Xatul walked back on his six legs to stand at the front of the massive stone table the others were gathered around. His triangular shaped head turned to look at each of the other nineteen Kleese before he replied. “We made a mistake breaking our agreement with the Alliance so soon. We should have waited until we had more ships.”

  “We did not know the Alliance had built such large defensive fleets,” protested Martule. “”We all believed we had allowed sufficient time for the Alliance to grow complacent. In the early stages of the new offensive we made huge gains in territory.”

  “Territory the Alliance has now taken back,” replied Bixutl coldly. “Our control over many of our conscript worlds grows weaker every day as word of Alliance victories spread. Even some of the non-aligned worlds are speaking of joining the Alliance.”

  “It’s the Humans,” said Overlord Caselt. “Their forces lead most of the attacks on our worlds. They are as fierce as the Zaltule in battle.”

  The Great Hall became quiet at the mention of the Zaltule. A number of the feared clan had fled after the regular Kleese had killed the Zaltule Queens in a series of surprise attacks. Those who fled had never been heard from again.

  “We will not mention the Zaltule in this chamber,” uttered Supreme Overlord Xatul harshly. “They are an abomination and one I should never have awakened.”

  “They are our past and we are the future of the Kleese race,” said Overlord Bixutl. “Our concern now must be the Alliance and the Humans.”

  “The shipyards at Sherlund are working day and night to build new warships,” reported Overlord Caselt. “We have also added more armaments to all of our trading stations as well as stationed fleets of our battlecruisers at each one to ensure no more are taken from us by the Alliance or the Humans.”

  “Trade at the stations on the side of our Empire where the Alliance and the Humans are located has dropped by nearly 80 percent,” added Overlord Syndat. “I would suggest we move those stations closer to our core systems to ensure they stay under our control.”

  Supreme Overlord Xatul considered this suggestion. By moving the stations near the core worlds, it would free up the fleets protecting them for use against the Alliance. It would also give the core worlds access to their massive manufacturing capability, particularly assault ship production. The negative side would be Kleese fleets needing to be repaired from battle with the Alliance would have nowhere to go except to return to the core worlds. In order to move the stations it might be necessary to construct repair yards in each of the sectors the Empire still controlled.

  “I will take that into consideration,” Xatul said as he folded his massive arms over his chest. “We must ensure our core worlds are safe and bringing the remaining trading stations to this sector would help accomplish that.”

  Overlord Bixutl shifted his multifaceted eyes to the Supreme Overlord. “Are we certain that no Zaltule Queens escaped with the warrior Zaltule that fled the Empire?”

  Xatul wished the other Overlords would drop their questions about the Zaltule. “There has been no sign of any Zaltule in thirty years. While the Zaltule like all Kleese are very long lived, without any Queens they will eventually become extinct. From the reports I received when the hives of the Zaltule Queens were being destroyed, none escaped.”

  “Let us hope that is correct,” replied Bixutl, expressing his concern. “I still believe we should have excavated the destroyed hives to ensure all the Queens were dead. If even one Queen survived, it could mean catastrophe for us in the future.”

  Xatul felt his anger growing. Perhaps it was time to put this nightmare to rest. “Very well, send some exploration ships to the sites of the former hives. They are to excavate the ruins until they confirm the Queens were indeed killed.”

  Bixutl nodded his triangular shaped head. “I will see to it immediately.”

  The meeting came to an end with Xatul and Syndat remaining.

  “What if Bixutl discovers some Queens are missing?” asked Syndat as the two looked out over the city. It was evening but the lights of the city made it look as if it was still daylight.

  Xatul didn’t reply immediately. Ever since the Zaltule left this had been his greatest fear. From what he knew of the warrior clan, they would not have left unless they had a good reason. He was greatly concerned one or two of their young Queens might have survived and escaped with the Zaltule fleet. As the years had passed and no word of the Zaltule was received his fears had begun to abate. Today Bixutl had ignited those fears once more. It was the primary reason he had agreed to the excavation of the destroyed hives. It was time once and for all to know if any Zaltule Queens did survive the destruction. If so, the Zaltule would make the threat of the Alliance and the Humans seem like a minor inconvenience. They would want vengeance against the other Kleese for what had been done to their hives and young Queens thirty years ago.

  -

  Corporal Thomas Nelson let out a deep breath as he stared at the mountain in front of him and his squad. It was the legendary Charring Mountain that was the pain and nightmare of all Marines training to wear the battlesuits.
They were in one of the larger domes on Centerpoint Station. This particular dome had barracks, training facilities, and everything else the Marines might need to train them to wear the powerful suits, which allowed them to take the fight to the Kleese and their millions of conscripts.

  “I wondered when we would have to go up that damn mountain,” said Private Brian Parker as he stared up the steep slopes.

  “Our parents did it,” replied Thomas. Thomas and Brian were friends as their parents were still close. They had been around each other their entire lives.

  “That was thirty years ago,” said Brian, folding his arms across his chest as he gazed at the tall trees covering much of the mountain. From here he couldn’t even see the summit.

  “When do we make our first attempt?” asked Private Kinsley Mays. Kinsley was a clone though you wouldn’t know it from looking at her. She looked just as Human as everyone else. Kinsley had blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

  “First thing in the morning,” Thomas replied. “Our entire platoon will make a run for the summit.”

  Brian let out a deep sigh and grimaced. “So we’re all going to get killed on our first attempt.”

  Thomas grinned. “Just stunned.”

  “I heard it hurts like hell,” muttered Brian. “My mother said it feels like hundreds of bees stinging you.”

  Thomas nodded. “Lauren would know. She made the attempt several times.”

  “It’s almost impossible even wearing battlesuits,” said Kinsley. “I bet we don’t even make it to the tree line.”

  “Can you ask your dad for any advice?” asked Brian with a pleading look on his face. “He made it up that mountain in record time.”

  Thomas looked up the mountain to where the tall trees began. It was a good five hundred meters to the first trees and reasonable cover. No doubt there were numerous pop-up weapons just waiting for them to make the attempt. “No, I’m not going to ask my father. In this we’re on our own.” Thomas was determined to do this himself and not rest on his father’s laurels or advice.