Betrayal

by E. Wayne Stucki

  “Rain? Wind?”

  “Impossible to tell, sir,” replied R’Gon. “Although cloud patterns do indicate some wind.” He gave an elaborate shrug from his trail. “But that’s only if the clouds on this planet behave like those back home.”

  “Assume they do, Commander,” said S’Cinf. “Will this create a problem for the planned attack?”

  The battle officer swung his long neck around to look at the Run Point before answering. “No problem at all, your Eminence,” he said. “Only a type five hurricane would postpone our launch.”

  “Something that strong would knock anything we’ve got out of the sky,” added J’Nes, the Colony Ships Captain. “But I don’t see any indication of a storm of that magnitude.”

  The Kthpok leader nodded his acknowledgment. “What about the weapons?”

  “As you ordered sir, two of the new weapons have been readied and loaded onto two ships,” replied R’Gon. “The rest of the assault drones have been armed with conventional weapons. The course, targets, and timing of all vessels have been programmed according to the plan.”

  Once again the Run Point bobbed his head. “Confirm all drones programming!” he ordered. “When that’s completed you may begin the assault.”

  A large hatch in the hull of the Fist of Strength slid open and forty drones exited. It took twenty minutes for the entire flight to leave the ship. Once in space the ships moved through the Kthpok formation with uncanny precision and took up position thirty miles ahead of the fleet.

  S’Cinf swung his head around to look at Lieutenant M’Ton who was responsible for monitoring the drones. “Well, Lieutenant?” he asked. “Are there any problems?”

  M’Ton hesitated long enough to finish reading the report shown on his console. Then he faced his Run Point. “No problems, your Eminence,” he reported. “All systems report well within parameters. Targets have been designated and confirmed.”

  The Run Point bobbed his head in approval. “Send, the release,” he ordered. “Let’s cleanse this world of the Iidx.”

  “Yes, your Eminence,” said M’Ton and turned back to his station. His hands moved over his console keying in the appropriate commands. He turned again to face S’Cinf. “The release has been sent, Run Point,” he announced. “The attack has begun!”

  The plot showed the formation of drones breaking up as the ships moved for their targets on the planet’s surface.

  “Take the fleet to its planned position,” ordered S’Cinf as he settled back on his perch. Acknowledgements were heard from the command crew and orders went out. Moments later the fleet began to move. It was important to be on the other side of the planet when the main target was destroyed.

  “Run Point!” called Lieutenant R’Gon. “The Iidx’ve decided we aren’t friendly. Since we entered orbit there’s been targeting scans. Now we have missile launches.”

  “Is there any danger?”

  “No, your Eminence,” R’Gon replied. “We’re well above their missile ranges. In addition, all our defenses are ready and tracking. We’ll knock down anything that even comes close.”

  “Very good, Commander,” said S’Cinf, nodding his head. He turned to face the communications suite. “What’s the status of placing the satellites?”

  “Proceeding as planned, Run Point,” replied Lieutenant L’Art. “Communications are solid.”

  Satisfied everything was proceeding as it should S’Cinf settled in to watch the screens which showed the progress of the attack. Cameras in each drone transmitted what they were facing and doing to the satellites which relayed the images to the fleet.

  Developing a targeting scheme for New Hive had been a relatively simple task since the Iidx had been very cooperative. Although it was unnecessary for the Kthpok preparations to return to their home system the Iidx allowed the Kthpok access to population numbers and locations of cities on the two planets.

  The drones tasked for solo operations reached their targets first. They were concentrating on the rural areas of New Hive’s large single continent and flew direct, unopposed courses to farms, research centers and environmental posts. As the craft approached their targets pulse cannons opened fire. Streaks of light from the drones traced a line of fire and destruction to their target. Then the craft overflew the targets to drop cluster munitions. Vegetation and native creatures were incinerated. Homes, buildings and vehicles exploded into flame then exploded again as fuel tanks and batteries were touched off. It didn’t matter if Iidx had found shelter inside or were in the open they died in the flames and explosions. Then the drones flew for the next target on their list.

  As the rural locations were being obliterated other drones attacked more populous sites. Small flights of two or three drones swept across villages and towns. Iidx in the streets or entering buildings looked up as they heard the sonic boom of supersonic aircraft. By then it was too late to seek cover. The attacking craft had already dropped their loads and cleared the area. A trail of incendiary bomblets traced a wide line through the houses, buildings and streets. Fire blossomed and spread outward from the drop zone. A gale was created by air being sucked into the flames. It fed a holocaust which tore through the remaining structures, sucking hapless Iidx into the inferno. Windows and doors in buildings in the path of the flames blew outward from the pressure difference an instant before the structure burst into flame. Intense heat melted the soil into a dull brown glass. For the larger communities the drones circled around and swept in for another attack and then another.

  While the rural areas and small population centers were being destroyed two drones were sent against New Hive’s only major city. There were over a million Iidx living and working there. When the craft were detected alarms wailed sending Iidx into shelters or to defensive positions. Surface Defense Pulsers tracked the incoming ships and opened fire. The pulses of brilliant light sped into the sky, reaching for the attackers. Using heuristic evasion patterns, speed and agility the drones dipped and fluttered to evade the incoming fire.

  Surface-to-air missiles locked onto the Kthpok drones then erupted from their launchers. Six weapons, three targeted on a drone, climbed into the sky, trailing white smoke. The artificial intelligence that controlled the Kthpok craft noted the oncoming missiles and increased speed. Chaff packets were fired to confuse the Iidx targeting. Two of the missiles lost lock and went off course. The rest of the SAM’s saw their targets increase in speed and but adjusted their own flight angle to maintain interception.

  Seconds from their target each drone fired their cruise missile. From that point events happened in rapid succession. The drones climbed for orbit and fired lasers at the onrushing SAM’s. An instant later both drones disappeared in brilliant explosions. Then the cruise missiles released by the drones arrived over the city at the programmed altitude and exploded almost simultaneously.

  During the attack Run Point S’Cinf remained on the Command Deck watching the screens which displayed all the action. It was very interesting watching. The only movement the Kthpok leader made was his tail curling and uncurling in a nervous twitch.

  Since the effects of the new weapons weren’t entirely understood his fleet had retreated to the far side of the planet. Thus, the images he was seeing were being relayed by the string of satellites placed in orbit. He alternated between watching the planet shown on the main screen and the views provided by the drones. Reports continued to come in that the sterilization of the planet was on schedule and without losses.

  “Cruise missiles have been released,” announced Lieutenant R’Gon from his station. Two screens showed the missiles racing ahead of the craft then the view shifted to show the sky. “Drones are climbing for space.”

  The Run Point’s tail stiffened in anticipation and anxiety. He stared at the image of New Hive and continued worrying. Would their new weapon work as advertised?

  “Drones have been…”

  Two brilliant flashes on the planet below cut off the announcement by the Battle Officer. Polarize
d filters of the cameras documenting the events from orbit muted the flash. Clouds over the target were pushed back from around the flashes creating a circular open area. An instant later the picture disappeared in static. S’Cinf jerked his head around to look at the communications officer. “What happened?” he demanded.

  Lieutenant L’Art stopped working his equipment to turn and face the Kthpok leader. “We’ve lost several satellites in the string,” he reported. “It appears the Electro-Magnetic Pulse generated by the weapons was greater than predicted and overwhelmed the shielding.”

  “It’s good our fleet was shielded by the entire planet then,” S’Cinf commented. “We could’ve been severely impaired. Now tell me about the radiation? Was it strong enough to sterilize the city?”

  “With the satellites disable it’s impossible to tell, sir,” replied the Lieutenant.

  “Has the EMP effect dissipated sufficiently so we can close?”

  Lieutenant D’Pan in Scanning worked his console for a moment then turned to face S’Cinf. “There’ll be no danger to our electronics now, Run Point! The effect’s dissipated.”

  The Kthpok leader gave a twitch of his tail to acknowledge the report then called to R’Gon. “Commander, have the drones complete their sweeps then home for pickup. The Fist of Strength will remain here to recover the drones as they return. Dispatch a destroyer to orbit low over the main target. They’re to scan for any sign of life. Let’s see how effective our new weapon was.”

  Captain Forst sat in the center compartment of the rescue craft and looked out the open door of the passenger compartment to watch the ocean flash below. They had several minutes before reaching Tarren Island to ponder. It’d taken several days to get this rescue operation ready instead of the one specified by the Colonel Levron. Now, before the Kthpok returned to Main Hive, this swarm was going to retrieve his downed pilot and set up an observation mission. Turning away from the open door the Captain keyed his communicator. “Has our pilot moved?” he asked.

  “Not for three days,” replied the officer assigned to scan for Kthpok aircraft and watch the beacon. “He’s just sitting in the middle of the jungle within spitting distance of the Kthpok base.”

  Forst acknowledged and flicked the communicator off. He returned to staring out the open door at the ocean beyond. The shoreline was coming up fast but it didn’t register. He was thinking about his pilot. All the survival training given to his pilots had the Iidx evading capture and finding shelter until rescue. Instead the Iidx they were coming to rescue was sitting in the middle of the jungle not far from the Kthpok base he’d attacked. Forst slammed a false-hand against his seat. This didn’t make sense. His people were better than this.

  A hard thump brought Captain Forst out of his thoughts. They’d landed! Iidx of the Insertion and Rescue Swarms began to jump out of the craft onto the beach. The compartment commander was standing next to the open door waving an arm and yelling, “Go! Go! Go!”

  Forst released his restraints, grabbed his pack and weapon then leapt out onto the sand to run for the jungle. He was the last Iidx out of the compartment despite being closest to the door. The craft lifted off in a spray of sand almost before his feet hit the beach and headed back out to sea, skimming just above the waves to avoid detection.

  The Iidx left behind hadn’t waited for the aircraft to leave but ran for the shelter of the jungle. Once under cover 1st Lieutenant Regul gathered his people together and had everyone check their weapons once more. Since he was in the Air Swarm and not trained for this rescue stuff Forst was content to let someone else give directions.

  “We’re in hostile territory,” Regul reminded his Iidx. “Chances are the Kthpok don’t know we’re here but they could still be looking for the downed pilot. If they are we might stumble onto a Kthpok patrol. So we’ll use the standard combat formation.” He indicated two Iidx. “Take point and rear. Captain Forst, you’ll be in the middle of the formation next to me.”

  A moment later the eleven Iidx were knifing through the jungle heading for the beacon. Calls and screeches from local creatures filled the air. Aromas sent out by flowers attracted smaller insects. The buzz of the flying creatures created an undercurrent to the general cacophony. While they moved through the jungle Forst turned to Regul and asked, “With all this noise how’ll you tell if there’s Kthpok in the area?” He ducked under another branch and stepped over a log.

  The Lieutenant dipped his antennae in amusement. “It’s the noise that’s the clue,” he replied and gestured at the jungle they were walking through. “The Kthpok are unknown to these creatures. They look and smell differently; make too much noise. So if any are in the area the native creatures will know and go into hiding. They’ll be quiet and it’ll spread.” Regul gave a shrug of his antennae. “I don’t know how they do it but if the noise stops we’ll know the Kthpok are near.”

  The pre-mission schedule had the SAR Swarm reaching the location of the downed pilot within the first day. Then he and Captain Forst would return to base. The rest of the swarm would stay to observe and report on Kthpok activity. But the terrain, dense jungle and circumstances changed their plans.

  It was the middle of the third day after landing that the Iidx reached the target area. Regul halted his Swarm just over a ridge from the beacon and checked the scanner. “This isn’t right,” he said. A few more entries were made on the device before the Lieutenant turned to confront Captain Forst. “I thought you pilots were trained in Evasion?”

  Forst’s entire frame bristled with indignation. “Every one of my Iidx received the required training, 1st Lieutenant!” the Captain said. “In fact, they received the advanced course only a few weeks ago. All of my people are able to evade the Kthpok and survive for as long as necessary.”

  “Then how do you explain this, sir?” asked Regul holding the scanner up for the Captain to see. “He hasn’t moved from that spot in seven days.” The other Iidx in the party had gathered around to listen.

  “I can’t explain it,” replied Forst with an uncertain wave of his antennae. “But we’ll find out when we find him.”

  “Chances are we’ll find him dead,” Regul said then glanced at his watch. After noting the time he looked up at the dense canopy. “There isn’t enough time to do it right today,” he announced to his people. “We’ll investigate after getting a good night’s rest.” He nodded to 2nd Lieutenant Nisan, his second in command, “this looks good here! We’ll set up camp here.”

  Regul had his people out of their tents well before sunrise. While his Iidx were preparing breakfast Lieutenant Regul checked his scanner once more. “This’s ridiculous!” he said to Forst who’d seen what the Lieutenant was doing and walked over. “That beacon still hasn’t moved.” Regul shook his antennae is disbelief. “And that isn’t right. Even a pilot has to know that if you want to be rescued you don’t set up camp a few miles from a major enemy base.”

  “So what do we do?” asked the Captain ignoring the jab at pilots. “We can’t very well turn around and leave. I have a downed pilot out there expecting pickup.”

  “If he’s alive,” replied Regul. “The Kthpok may have already ambushed our pilot and left the beacon which would explain why it’s been stationary for so long.” He gestured over the ridge. “What concerns me now is that the Kthpok might be using that beacon to set up an ambush.”

  “But there aren’t any Kthpok here!” exclaimed Forst. “They’re all in space with their Swarm.”

  “So you told the Colonel. But I’m going to plan for the worst and hope to be pleasantly surprised.”

  Regul turned away from the Captain and called Corporal Navaj and Air First Class Jerah over. Using a map of the area he pointed out where the beacon was and the Swarm’s current position. Both Iidx examined the map for a moment then looked at Regul for their instructions. “Your assignment is to scout the area surrounding the beacon for any sign of an ambush,” the Lieutenant said. He glanced over at Forst for a moment then continued. “You are to
avoid contact if you find any Kthpok. I don’t want them to know we’re here. Your priority in that case is to return with the enemy’s positions and number. If there aren’t any Kthpok find our downed pilot and bring him back here.” The two Iidx repeated their instructions back to the Lieutenant then moved for the jungle.

  After watching the scouts disappear into the jungle Regul and the others began to strike camp. Their tents were taken down and packed; the area scoured for any paper or refuse that didn’t belong. With that task complete the Iidx turned to cleaning or adjusting their weapons. Unfortunately Forst didn’t have that diversion to fill the time. He carried a pistol not a rifle and hadn’t thought to bring the tools needed to maintain the weapon. They were supposed to have returned to base long before this time.

  With nothing else to do Forst found a spot in a clump of ferns and lay down. Perhaps he could get some sleep even though he’d just gotten up. The Captain composed himself, closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

  After half an hour or so he opened his eyes, shifted to a more comfortable position and tried again. Fifteen minutes later Forst grunted and moved again. At last he cursed and climbed to his feet.

  Forst walked around the area, looking at the trees and bushes of the jungle and at others of the Swarm. By this time some of the Iidx had finished with their weapons and were reading or watching pads they had the foresight to bring. Others were lying down, asleep, seeming able to do what Forst couldn’t. Still others were playing cards. The Captain walked over to where the two scouts had disappeared and stared into the jungle.

  “It’s only been little more than an hour.” The voice startled Forst and he turned to see Lieutenant Regul relaxing in a clump of nearby ferns.

  The Iidx was looking up from the pad he’d been reading. “Worried?” the Lieutenant asked and gave a reassuring wave of his antennae. “Don’t be. Those two know their way around jungles like this. They’ve been doing it for years. They’ll be able to search the area without anyone or anything knowing they’re there.”