The general held up her hand. "I won't argue with you, Mr. Beutcher. The decisions have already come down from the Council and have been accepted by the people. We stay here and we fight for Jorus."
I stood and walked out in disbelief.
Joni yelled into my ear. "I can't believe them! Why would you risk the lives of everyone needlessly?"
I yelled back. "I can't make sense of their decision making! Perhaps we have gotten weak in the mind when it comes to understanding the realities of life! Have we become so complacent that it no longer matters? Is principle without reason our new mantra?"
Joni replied, "All we can do is do what we can! Maybe we can get lucky and save some of them!"
I nodded. "I truly appreciate all you have done, Joni Salton! You are a person of conviction who at least attempts to operate with reason! I'm afraid my people have lost that!"
Joni yelled, "The Kergans are forming up to move! It looks like they are bringing about 80 percent of their troops! Those forests will soon be full of Kergans! We are looking at a front that is ten kilometers wide and a thousand soldiers deep! That's just crazy! We will be losing fighters to fatigue! I told Grunta Command of the spear guns earlier! They didn't seem to be concerned! I'll inform them of the Kergan movements when we are done here!"
I half smiled. "What of the transports? Will you be able to silence the ones on the side we will be attacking from?"
Joni replied, "Yes! I'll let you know when the guns are down before you come over the rise! If you don't hear from me, assume they are still up!"
I thanked Joni for her help and was soon met by the silence of a gentle breeze blowing. The valley was calm and quiet. I wondered how long it would remain that way.
After a second meeting with my Talisan commanders, we moved out. The journey out the back side of the valley was pleasant. We jogged along an ancient roadway where only the occasional washout slowed our progress. With the endurance of my Talisan fighters, we expected to be at the base of the rise, beside the Kergan transports, in just under six hours.
If things happened as we believed, my Gruntas would be several hours into their epic battle by our arrival. An image of great carnage and death was ever in my thoughts. It was not an image I was fond of.
As I ran along in a column of soldiers a hundred wide, I turned to the proud Talisan running beside me. "What's your name, soldier?"
An enthusiastic reply was returned. "Sergeant Guavel, Your Highness!"
I shook my head. "We are all equals here, Sergeant. There's no need to call me by that. I'm not royalty."
The sergeant continued to smile. "Oh, but you are, sir. As emperor, you have the undying loyalty and respect of our people. And might I add, you could not be more popular among us. Of the infants born in the last year, I would say a full third of the boys are named Knog. And an equal number of the girls will have some variation of that. Knogga, Knogelia, Knogessa, Knogene. The list goes on and on, sir. You are our emperor, and a most beloved one at that. Not a Talisan wouldn't fight and die for you."
I glanced over at the sergeant. "Thank you, Mr. Guavel. I was in need of a morale boost and you just provided me with one."
The sergeant teared up as his smile beamed. Out of respect for his conviction, I held back my eye roll. Our trek took us through a second valley, turning south, and then up and over a pass down onto a plain covered with rolling hills that spread out to forested flatlands.
As we reached the crumbled remains of an ancient Grunta town, we turned east, heading along a ridge that would take us directly to the transports. When our seven hour journey came to an end, we were within two kilometers of the Kergan. I ordered our troops to take up defensible positions should we be discovered.
As I looked around at the Talisans close to me, I saw nothing but smiling faces. It was a strange sensation to be surrounded by a species that had no real morals of their own. Their morals were those adopted by them from their leader, the Emperor of Talisan.
I said to myself as I quietly laughed, "You're living in crazy times with crazy people. And thousands of them are now named Knog."
Chapter 18
* * *
I crawled to the top of the rise and spied down on the transports that were parked almost a kilometer away. Once the attack began, we would have a half kilometer of open space to cross. I hoped Joni's assault on the transport guns would also offer a distraction. If not, our first move would be costly.
The eight transports that covered the end of the field were arranged in a vee-shaped patterns. Four sets of particle cannons were aimed in our direction. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Kergan troops stood in and around the transports. Patrols of four walked the perimeter.
As I observed our enemy, the charge barrels from two of the particle cannons dropped to the ground. A dozen or so Kergans took note of the incident, walking over for a closer look. When the same phenomenon happened to the guns of the next two transports, activity among the Kergans began to pick up.
I said to myself as two more barrels fell, "Come on, Joni, keep it going. You’re halfway there."
I glanced back at the Talisan major lying on the ground several meters behind me. "Prepare the troops. When I give the signal, we go in."
The major nodded, sliding farther down the slope before getting up to run. As I looked back, word spread across my troops like a wave on a calm pond. When I turned back, the last of the cannon barrels fell to the ground. The Kergan soldiers moved frantically about the area, looking for a cause. Further into the cluster of transports, four large explosions could be seen. A moment later, the boom reached us.
Seconds later, Joni was by my side. "Go! Now! They're distracted. I'm heading back to add a little more. The bulk of their troops are on the north end of that field, about a kilometer and a half away."
I turned and waved my arm. Hordes of Talisan fighters charged up the hill behind me. I rose, joining them as they reached my position. Together a column of fighters, fifteen hundred men wide, almost four thousand deep, charged over the rise and onto the field beyond. The first of the Kergans to see us stood in stunned silence for several seconds. Thousands of blue ion bolts ripped into their ranks.
We concentrated fire between the transports as we crossed the field. Only a handful of orange particle beams came back in response. The intensity of the fighting picked up exponentially as we reached the edge of our goal. I knelt beside a transport doorway, firing repeated rounds inside before dozens of my fighters ran past me with their blasters blazing. The same scene was taking place on all eight of the forward transports.
I stood, firing my GPR, sending four Kergan bodies flying backwards into a group as they rounded the back end of the transport beside me. We pushed hard into largely empty ships, killing every Kergan in our path. Two minutes into our operation, the third row of transports had fallen. Our flood of troops moved rapidly forward.
A major ran up beside me. "Resistance has been light, sir. It appears they were completely unprepared."
I shook my head. "Thank you, Major. I find it baffling that these species don't feel the need to send scouts out past their perimeters. They could easily have pinned us down in that depression had they been prepared."
Our forward progress had covered just over a third of the transports before the resistance became heavy. Kergan fighters lay in wait, firing from positions that were somewhat shielded. Within the span of a few minutes, our rapid charge forward slowed to a crawl.
I gave orders for my fighters to climb atop the transports and to fire down upon the defenders from above. The tactic, which at first proved successful, quickly lost its element of surprise.
I turned back to the major. "How many of the GPRs do we have?"
The major replied, "We have fifty. The rest were given to the Grunta for their forest defense."
I gestured toward the front. "I want those GPRs up front. They are far more destructive. We can use them to drive the Kergans back."
A lieutenant approached with new
s from the northern side of the battle. "Sir, the Kergans are starting to use their spear guns. We believe they are searching for anything that can turn the fight in their favor."
I looked at the major. "Sounds like they are finally getting their act together. I would expect things only to get tougher from here."
I turned back to the lieutenant. "The spear guns, are they effective?"
The lieutenant replied, "Only in the closest of combat, sir. They can penetrate our battle-suits, and they are deadly when they do, but they don't offer an advantage over our blasters."
The major thanked the lieutenant, sending him back to the north.
As I stood behind the protection of a transport, I had to stop and wonder about my family and how their fight might be going. The thought of those spear bolts coming in through the woods gave me an uneasy feeling. At the same time, that uneasy feeling pushed me to drive forward into the Kergan ranks. The fighting had only been raging for twenty minutes, and yet we had taken nearly half of their transport fleet.
A thought crossed my mind. "Major, put several teams together. See if we can get one of these transports in the air. If so, I want them up there shooting down at the others we haven't taken, starting with the far end. If they can fly but not shoot, then crash them into the others. Anything to take out those guns!"
The major gave the orders.
Joni said. "They are concentrating on your northern flank. I'll go see what I can do to alleviate the pressure."
I replied, "Hold on. Can you go check on the Gruntas? I need to know how the fight is getting along there."
Joni nodded. "I'll be back in five."
Two particle beams singed the outer hull of the transport beside me. I returned fire. The gravity beam from my GPR struck the ground just in front of the two Kergans, throwing them upwards into the hull, killing them instantly.
"Major! Those two just dropped out of a hatch. Pass the word to keep an eye out for that. And have the hatches of the transports we've taken checked. I don't want anyone sneaking out and killing our people from behind."
I turned as the crackling sound of a medium particle cannon resonated between the transports. My troops had figured out how to work the Kergan cannons. Seconds later, the first of the transports began to lift. Before reaching thirty meters off the ground, two dozen of the Kergan transports opened up with their particle cannons. Debris from the strikes shot downward into my fighters, killing hundreds as a relentless barrage of orange streams ripped into the long gunmetal gray ships.
I yelled out, unheard, for the pilot to set the ship down. What happened next spoke of the commitment of my Talisan fighters. The transport, now in flames with parts dangling from her hull and smoke trailing behind, shot forward, crashing into the ships the Kergans still held a half kilometer to our east. Further explosions rocked the field around us as a dark column of smoke rose up from the crash site.
I watched in disbelief as a second, third, and then fourth ship followed the first.
I called out to the major. "I want gunners on every one of those ships we have taken! We can expect a similar tactic from the Kergans. If they bring up a single ship, I want it knocked down before it ravages our fighters! And tell our troops no more suicide runs!"
Three captured Kergan transports lifted into the air before my orders could reach them. Again, the ships were pummeled as they attempted to fire into the ranks of the Kergans. As the last of the three pushed forward on the throttle, its gravity drive failed, dropping it onto our front lines, killing thousands.
The Kergan troops attempted to surge forward in and around the crash site. Our troops countered, bringing the breakout attempt to a quick end. The fighting in and among the transports had quickly turned into a war of attrition.
Minutes later, as I had predicted, a half dozen Kergan ships rose above the others and began firing their cannons at our front lines. Their attempt was met with the same ferocity that ours had received. Particle streams from a hundred captured transports ripped into the ships, sending them back to the ground, their pilots more interested in survival than gaining advantage in the fight.
The major stepped forward. "Your Highness, we now have a gap on the ground between the transports we have captured and the front lines. All the transports we sent forward came from that gap. I would propose that we ready the transports on the back side of that gap to fire and then move our troops from the front line to back behind them. When the enemy surges forward, which they will, we can hammer them with the particle cannons on the back side of the gap. Once sufficient casualties have been inflicted, we again move our assault forward."
I thought for a moment. "Major Toora, you just earned yourself a field promotion! I'll be calling you Captain Toora from here on. And thank you for that idea. Let's put it in play immediately. Send runners back to the transports telling them to prepare, and send runners forward with order for our troops to wait for a signal. If we move that line back in rapid unison, the Kergans will surge into that void and right into the particle cannon fire. Have the gunners on those transports, and our troops, wait until that gap is flooded with Kergans before opening fire."
The newly-promoted captain barked out orders over his comm.
Joni blinked in and said, "The fight in the forest is not going well. We're taking heavy casualties from those spear bolts. The GPRs are a good equalizer, but I don't know that they are being used effectively. In pure hand-to-hand, the Kergans are losing, but not by much. They are good fighters. We've already lost three hundred meters of ground. We need to get those grunts in the air."
I replied, "Just move up and start taking out as many guns as you can, starting from the far side. Any you take out, we don't have to fight for."
Joni nodded. "Your family is safe at the moment. They are in the reserves, but they could get moved forward at any time as their division is next in line."
I nodded. Silence told me that Joni had gone.
The fighting continued until the comms came in with news. The transport gunners were ready. I gave the nod, to which Captain Toora sent out the order. In precisely five minutes, all Talisan forces would quickly fall back across the gap to regroup while we offered cover fire. As the Kergans raced forward, the transport gunners would have forty-five seconds of open fire, followed by a counter surge by our troops.
I waited nervously on the back side of a transport as the seconds ticked down. At the five minute mark, the flood of Talisan fighters turned and raced backwards. We were quickly across the gap and behind the transports, regrouping for our next push forward.
Screams could be heard from the Kergan ranks as they celebrated our retreat. Those screams of victory quickly turned to calls for attack as their troops emerged from their defensive positions. In less than a minute, the first of the Kergans cautiously nosed their way into the front part of the gap. Seeing no resistance, word was sent back. In only seconds the gap began to fill with tens of thousands of screaming Kergans as they raced forward after the retreaters.
Moments before reaching our side of the gap, our transport gunners opened fire with the particle cannons. Beam after beam sliced through the onrush of Kergan fighters, bringing their surge to a sudden, and devastating, halt. At forty-five seconds, the transport guns went silent and our fighters let out screams of their own.
The Kergans still in the gap turned to flee, but the gap turned bright blue with the ion bolts from our blasters. Kergan bodies exploded as we pushed rapidly across the gap and into the transports on the other side. The Kergans were regrouping.
Our force was greeted with a chaotic attempt at defense. We pushed forward through another dozen rows of transports before our progress began to slow. Our move, making use of the gap, had allowed the capture of another one hundred twenty transports. The Kergan fleet was shrinking rapidly.
The northern quarter of our advance remained at a standstill. I sprinted along, just behind our lines, stopping when I came upon my commanders.
General Tellinon was in
command. "Your Highness, we have been unable to break through their lines. They are dug in, using both the ground and those transports for cover."
I said, "If we can't push them back, then we go around. Cut 'em off. How many troops do we have in reserve?"
The general replied, "We are down to our last fifty thousand."
I pulled back. "What? I thought we had close to ten times that amount!"
The general looked down. "We've attempted wave after wave of assaults with little success."
I threw my hands in the air. "And you didn't stop or call for tactical assistance? How did you get to be a general, General?"
Tellinon bowed his head in disgrace, took two steps back, and placed a blaster under his chin. Before I could react, he pulled the trigger and his head exploded, covering each of us with a smattering of his brains.
After an initial moment of shock, I looked around at the others. "Who is second in command?"
Colonel Mellu Brotlef stepped forward. "That would be me, Your Highness. How may I serve?"
I replied to Mellu and the others, "First, if a strategy isn't working, either change it or seek help or ideas from other commanders. Second, this is what we are going to do. Disable the particle cannons in the dozen ships in this section. We don't want them used against us. Next, move all available troops to the south by two hundred meters. Set up a defensive front and wait for the enemy to come to you. Third, I want a comm sent down to our central commanders asking for half of their reserves to be moved up to our new line.
"We'll lure the defenders forward, and then push in from the south until we can turn north, coming up behind their defenses. If we can cut them off from the others, we can at least hold them in check while the rest of our fighters move forward. We've been at this for six hours now and have two thirds of the ships under our control."
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