The Curanian Dominance: The Linda Eccles Series - Volume Three

by Robert Woodard

  The craft shook as it entered the outer layer of the planet’s atmosphere. The front of the craft burst into flames as the heated surface suffered the friction. Suna had led enough assaults over his career that the sight didn’t bother him in the least. The sturdy craft would absorb the abuse and deflect the intense heat.

  “Touchdown in four ticks, Suna,” the pilot reported.

  Suna slipped his battle helmet over his head. Dropping it into the ring of his battle suit, he locked the connection ring into place. After activating the communicator, he said, “Ground Master to all crafts, prepare for landing.”

  His order would be repeated from squad leaders to assault teams on each of the landing crafts. By the time his ships touched the surface of the planet, his entire first wave of ground troopers would be in gear with weapons at the ready and psyched for battle.

  The flames died off, and the shuttle quit shaking. The arid-looking ground came into view. Huge holes could be seen where the bombardment of the planet created burst craters. Not a living thing could be seen as the craft closed in on the designated landing zone.

  The landing zone selected was just short of the only alien village known to exist on the planet. He could see it was nothing more than shattered stone buildings now. The pounders were spot-on in their aiming. When the craft finally touched down, his vision became obscured by flying dust from the overly arid soil.

  The side door swung open, and his troops began to depart. They quickly took up defensive positions further out to protect the other incoming craft. Not hearing any weapon fire, Suna stepped out of the shuttle and watched as it went airborne again. The dust quickly cleared to give him a wide-open view of his surroundings. The enhanced speakers in his helmet failed to detect any sounds other than the arriving crafts.

  “Assault craft one, you are to follow the incoming rail line and break it up,” Suna ordered. He had no intention of letting a hidden army come at him by using that rail line he had witnessed from space.

  Six heavily armed crafts followed the landing force down to give him direct air cover. He watched one of them swung away to begin bombing the rail line at regular intervals. In his mind, Suna could imagine the steel railings being blown outward and made useless.

  The internal fan kicked on to offset the intense heat baking his suit. Even so, he could still feel the warmth of the planet. The overhead sun created a glare on the transparent helmet, which slowly darkened to offset it.

  Four more crafts touch down and spilled out their contents. Suna used hand movements to direct them into various sections of the landing area. This went on for several ticks before he had his entire first-wave force on the ground. The readiness reports from his various squad leaders flowed into his helmet. With each report, the squad indicator showing in the helmet display turned green. It wasn’t long before his entire first-wave force was ready to move.

  One thousand battle-hardened Curanians now stood on the surface of the planet, and all under his single command. With fifty squads of twenty troopers each, he was ready to cover a large area quickly. Should he get into a major firefight, he had the strength to hold his own until reinforcement could be called down. Right now, he knew that the crafts would be heading back into the belly of the pounders to reload with more troopers ready to be brought down at his command.

  “Squads one through ten, come in from the right side,” Suna ordered. “Eleven through twenty take the left side. Squads twenty-one through thirty will push in from the center. All other squads hold in reserve behind the center force. Let’s go kick some alien butt.”

  A mighty roar of cheering troopers filled his helmet as they pushed into the wrecked village. It died down quickly as they rushed in and found it empty. Despite the piles of rock from collapsed structures that would have offered their opponents great sniping positions, no resistant was encountered. Suna stood in the center of the ruins looking around. The place looked about as primitive as a species could get and still be called intelligent.

  His well-trained force spread wide to take up defensive positions around the village. Further out, pickets formed to warn against any counter-attack, but Suna highly doubted he needed to be concerned with any kind of attack on this sunbaked planet.

  “I’m detecting movement on the hillside on your right, Suna.”

  Suna looked at his helmet display showing the blinking green of the squad leader that had reported. Turning his entire body to face the hills to his right, he used his helmet camera to scan the area. High up on the hillside, he spotted what looked like a cave opening with movement around it. He zoomed in on the spot.

  The creatures that seemed to be standing guard around the opening were about the ugliest things Suna had ever seen. They carried forked rods that only increased his impression of the planet’s primitive status. The creatures looked quite muscular and carried a long snout that he suspected carried sharp teeth. They wore no clothing or battle armor of any kind.

  Another creature stepped out of the cave opening, and it clearly presented a formidable picture. Along with a massive snout, it carried two long fang-like teeth that protruded down from the top of its jaw. It used a muscular arm to point its long claws toward his troops, all clearly seen in the zoomed-in camera image.

  Since the creatures did not seem to carry any firearms, Suna needed to get direction on how to proceed. He walked over to the portable transmitter that had already been set up within a protected section of the village, where a large bundle of collapse rock walls provided a screen. Activating his communication unit, he switched frequencies to interact with the transmitter.

  “This is Ground Master Suna to Control. I have taken possession of the village, but it’s abandoned. No dead or wounded found. I have sighted activity on the hillside off to the right of the village. I believe the creatures are intelligent, but primitive, and they appear to be housed in a cave. Requesting further orders.”

  “Suna, this is control. Proceed into the cave to ascertain creature strength, resistance capability and attempt to capture one of them for possible interrogation. Report your findings.”

  “Right away, Control.” Yeah, like you are going to be able to communicate with one of these leatherheads.

  The last thing Suna wanted was to send troops into that cave. The klidspit creatures are probably just waiting in there to ambush anyone who made that mistake. Orders were orders, so he would have to follow them. He switched frequencies back to his squads.

  Scanning the hillside, he zoomed in to see if he could find a path leading to the opening. He spotted what looked like a path running from the valley right up to the cave opening. When he focused on the cave opening again, he noticed that only one creature remained outside the opening. He suspected it was to keep an eye on them.

  Activating the communicator, Suna said, “Squad Commander Five?”

  “Reporting, Suna.”

  “There is a path leading up the hill behind you. Take your squad up and secure that cave entrance.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  “Squads six, seven and eight, move in squad order to support five. Once squad five has secured the opening, begin the assault on the occupants within. I need at least one prisoner.”

  Suna watched as his orders were carried out. The twenty warriors of squad five worked their way up the hill in single file. Moving his head to focus the helmet’s camera on the cave opening, he now found it abandoned. The lone guard had disappeared. Suna suspected the guard ran inside to sound the alarm that they were coming.

  You can run, leatherheads, but you can’t get away.

  Chapter Six

  When word reached him that the invaders were coming down to the planet in small ships, Klickest had the rugg layout diagram brought into the council chamber and set on the table. He began studying the rugg design with the other council members in preparation for defending it.

  With one eye roaming over the other members of the council and focusing his other eye on the hide that captured the rugg la
yout, Klickest said, “Overlord Jeftrick really did a great job in creating this rugg. In the main tunnel that comes in from the base of the entrance, he created attack corridors.” Klickest used a claw to point out several of the small cutout sections noted in the tunnel design. “We can put two overlords into each of these corridors to strike at the invaders as they attempt to pass.”

  “Yes, and if we turn out the lights in that tunnel, they will remain hidden from sight until it is too late,” Triff said.

  “And when they funnel into the main chamber, we can meet them with a sizable force of overlords and underlords to turn them back,” Wiskum added.

  Klickest could begin to see it all in his mind now. The multiple tunnels at the base of the entrance would split up the invading forces, just as Overlord Jeftrick had intended. Those that took the correct tunnel would have to run a gauntlet of Kracks just to get to the main complex. Once they attempted to exit the tunnel, they would face the might of the Kracks.

  “Overlord Ridnig!” Klickest called out.

  Ridnig came in from the side entrance, and said, “Yes, Council Leader.”

  “Have all of the council guards take up position at the outlet to the chamber holding the den mothers and the lings. They will be our last line of defense should any invaders make it that far into the rugg. Assign two overlords per attack corridor. All remaining Overlords and Underlords are to position themselves in the main chamber to attack any invaders who try to exit the main tunnel. Have all overlings and underlings positioned behind the others to add their support. They are to turn back any invaders who make it past the overlords and underlords.”

  “It will be done, Council Leader,” Ridnig responded. He then turned and disappeared through the side entrance.

  “Where do you want us, Council Leader?” Rentum asked.

  “We will move into the chamber with the den mothers. If any of them get that far, we will help protect the den mothers, the lings and any unhatched eggs to the end,” Klickest responded.

  “Do you think that is wise, Council Leader? We represent the leadership of Kracks. Would it not be wiser to stay in the council chamber and direct the battle from here?” Bolard asked.

  “Masterlord, if we cannot stop the invaders from getting past the main chamber, there will not be any Kracks’ society to lead. If we fall, others will rise to take our place on the Council. Our future lies with the den mothers and the lings. If we die protecting them, we will have done the greatest service any Masterlord could give to the Kracks. If we stay safe in this chamber and wait for the invaders to come to us, we may live to find we are all that is left. That will never happen while I am Council Leader. Kracks will survive as a whole or Kracks will die as a whole.”

  “Those are wise words, Council Leader. My claws will drip blood, and these invaders will pay a heavy price before they step past my dead body to harm those I am protecting,” Wiskum boasted.

  “As will mine!” Triff shouted. He held up his clawed hand to emphasis his boast.

  ◆◆◆

  Ground Master Suna stood within the protection of the stone piles that once represented some mighty structure. A command post now, he watched the hillside through the enhanced camera within his helmet. Squad Five had reached the tunnel entrance and prepared to make the assault. Squad Six was quickly reaching the top of the path.

  With Squad Five now bunched around the tunnel entrance, the other squads were flowing down the path waiting for room to move up the hill. The landing outside the tunnel entrance was only large enough to hold a single squad. Seeing this, Suna knew they needed to move into the tunnel to keep his assault moving forward.

  “Squad Five Leader, begin your assault. As you move further in leave a communication line so your signals will transmit back out of the cave. Squad Six Leader, as soon as Squad Five is in place, you will move into the tunnel to push forward. Squad Seven will move up once Squad Six is inside. You will hold position at the entrance until I give the word to move inside the cave.”

  Receiving confirmation to his orders, Suna watched as Squad Five moved into the tunnel entrance two abreast. His speaker came alive with chatter between squad members.

  “The tunnel entrance is steep and treacherous. I can’t keep my footing.”

  “The ground contains sharp outcroppings that sliced both point men when they fell.”

  “This place is one large trap, Leader.”

  “Use the outcroppings to secure your footing. Get to the bottom and get that defensive parameter in place!”

  Suna recognized that last communication as coming from Squad Five Leader. From what Suna could tell so far, it sounded like the creatures on this planet had defenses in place inside the tunnel to make a quick assault difficult. He decided to pull them back out if things didn’t improve once they got a defensive position established inside that cave.

  “We reached the bottom, Leader. No resistance has been encountered. There are multiple tunnels at the base of this main entrance.”

  “Hold there and await my arrival to ascertain the situation. Take defensive positions.”

  Suna’s helmet went quiet while the troops in squad five waited further direction. Several more ticks passed as Suna waited. As the time slipped away, he began to wonder just how long that main entrance really was for the Squad Leader to traverse.

  “Squad Leader Five to Ground Master, defensive parameter has been established at the base of the main entrance. No resistance encountered. Thirteen tunnel entrances exist from here. Each tunnel is labeled, but the alien nature of the language makes deciphering them impossible. We’ll need multiple squads to cover them all.”

  How in the world did they even create thirteen tunnels in the first place? Muni shook his head at the problem of trying to enter so many tunnels at once. He didn’t like having to split his forces, but it would take too long to search each tunnel one at a time.

  “Squad Five Leader?” Suna called out. His call into his helmet microphone went unanswered for a tick or two, and he suspected it was because his signal was passing from helmet to helmet to reach the end of that klidspit cave.

  “Reporting Ground Master,” the Leader finally responded.

  “Give me a layout of the cave.”

  “Yes, Ground Master. It’s not a cave as much as a tunnel. From the entrance, I suspect we dropped at least to a level equal to the valley floor. From what I can see of the tunnels down here they appear to run level. There is no illumination present, so visibility is limited to what our helmet lights allow me to see.”

  Suna gave the hillside a quick look while comparing it to ground level. If the Leader was correct, the drop from the top to the bottom of the cave tunnel would have been about equal to leaping off the roof of Supreme’s two-story building to the ground below. That was a klidspit of a drop.

  “Would I be correct in believing that we could not bombard that bugs nest from above?” Suna asked.

  “There is a lot of hillside over the top of these tunnels, and the tunnels are lined with rock. I think we would run out of bombs before we even made a dent in this hill.”

  “What is your assessment of the situation in there?”

  There was another slight hesitation that led Suna to believe the Leader was thinking things through. He finally answered, “I think we are walking into a bad situation down here, Ground Master. These caves are too narrow to allow us to pass through in mass, and the darkness begs us to walk into an ambush.”

  “Okay, hold your position and await further orders,” Suna replied. He then changed frequencies. “Ground Master Suna to Control.”

  “What’s the word down there Suna?”

  “These creatures had gone underground, Plon. We can’t blast them out, and I suspect I would lose too many troops trying to flush them out.”

  “I see. Have you come across anything down on the planet that is worth the cost of spilling Curanian blood?”

  “Not even a drop, Plon. These leatherheads are about as backwards as any creature
can get. About the only sign of intelligence in these creatures is their ability to dig tunnels deep into the ground,” Suna answered. The thought of fighting these creatures for crumbled rock did not please him.

  “I take it you’re recommending we pull out?”

  “Yes, Control. There is no way to know what awaits us as we progress into this spiderweb of tunnels.”

  “I agree. Pull your force out, Suna, and prepare for extraction.”

  “Gladly, Plon.”

  ◆◆◆

  Plon cut off the communication with Suna and stared at the bleak looking planet before his ship. He wasn’t about to risk heavy losses to his troops when that species was not what they were after. He wanted the other race of beings that came to this species aid, but where were they?

  Perhaps he underestimated his opponent. Could they have sniffed out his trap and let this species fend for themselves to avoid it? It was definitely looking that way. They had plenty of time to come to their aid while he was blasting his way through the protective field and clearing out the docked ships. They should have responded by now if they were going to.

  What should I do now? The silent question bounced around in his head in an attempt to form a response into some logical approach. If his opponent failed to show up when they were needed the most, he highly doubted they would come after the damage was done.

  The creatures below were probably just daring him to send troops into whatever trap they had in place down there. He wasn’t stupid enough to allow that to happen. A sudden idea popped into his thoughts. Unless those creatures had another way out of that underground complex, all he had to do was entomb them and be done with it.

  “If you want to hide underground, I’ll keep you there.” The words made him smile at the thought. “Control to Suna.”

  “One tick, Control, while I have him switch frequencies.”

  Plon waited patiently until he heard Suna respond, “Control, this is Suna.”

  “Suna, what would it take to entomb those creatures into their own graves?”