This moon is nowhere as resource rich or as energy rich as Earth with its life giving sun. The density of population supportable by this moon is very low compared to Earth. That is why this entire Moon has the population of what would be a relatively small country on Earth. The resources available to the Shaitans on Jehannum should also be compared with such a small country on Earth. They are not going to waste limited resources on building war machines for ground warfare, for which they have no need.
Last but not least, one has to remember that the Shaitans live underground. No one lives on the surface and hence there is nothing to contest on the surface, other than the points of entry and exit. The Shaitans warfare doctrine would be based on confined space battles within their tunnels and underground chambers. If they have any specialized war machines, they would be suited to fighting in such environments. Tanks and howitzers have no role in those environments. I would be wary as we go deep into their burrows now, for we may see the real Shaitan implements of war deep down there.” Adina finished with her ominous warning.
On that somber note, the officers dispersed and went about their individual tasks. While the Marines knew they were going into a dangerous battle, little did they know how many of those faces would be missing in the next time meeting. For the moment Sarah came up to her immediate superior and said with a smile. “Looks like they 4th Company is no longer the favorite of the brass, sir. We are absolutely at the rear of the deployment.”
“You may have a death wish Kali, but the rest of the Company would definitely appreciate a break. The brass had to think of the poor Marines of the 4th Company. This is one deployment I hope to return with all my Marines for a change, Kali. I can no longer take the emotional burden of losing more of my Marines. I need a break too Kali, emotionally that is.” Capt. Song replied.
“I know that you care more than anyone else about us Marines under your command sir. That is why they would follow you anywhere, and so would I. For a change sir, I am not grumbling about our rear deployment. I thought hard about the lecture you gave me while we jumped. You may have a point sir. May be I need to reevaluate my priorities.” Sarah replied, a lot more serious in her demeanor.
The 4th Company of the 7th Brigade was deployed well behind the frontline. Although it was held in reserve, it had plenty of sweep up tasks to conduct in the wake of the advancing Marines. The least popular of those sweep up tasks was that of getting a body bag to a fallen Marine and then transporting the dead back up to surface. Ideally Mules and other bots should have done this job, but all the bots and drones were fully deployed on the frontline, so this grim task had to be done by the Marines physically.
Sarah was supervising this task for her company, and the nature and amount of casualty told her very clearly that the invasion into the domain of the Shaitans was not going well. Despite precautions taken, and anticipation of the Marines, many fell victim to booby traps, ambushes or plain entrapments by caving in tunnels.
From what she heard from the frontline, the Shaitans had not pulled out any major surprises below the ground in terms of war machines, as had been feared. There was no war machine unleashed like a tank, which was appropriate for the underground battle. The battles were still very much mobile infantry battle fought on foot. What the Marines seemed to have underestimated, was the sheer numbers and determination of the Shaitans, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves in a fanatic charge.
It should not have been surprising, the Shaitans were defending their home after all. The Marines themselves would have fought very differently if this was Earth they were defending. It was clear to Sarah that the Marines could not sustain this campaign for long. They had to think of a different strategy. There were only two thousand odd Marines, and that number could not be bolstered in a hurry.
Sarah started feeling guilty that she, her Company and the captain were in a relatively safe position, while so many other Marines were risking and losing their lives. She would regret that thought almost as soon as it came to her.
It happened almost right next where Capt. Song was overseeing a couple of Marines administering first aid to an injured Marine before they carried the stretcher up to the field hospital on the surface. The side wall of the tunnel slightly above the head height of the Marines exploded with violent force and tons of rock went flying towards the Marines.
Within seconds of the hole opening up in the side wall of the tunnel, large Type-B warrior Shaitans started pouring out of it. Almost none of the Marines of the 4th Company were in their armor or had their weapons on them. Many were busy carrying the wounded and the dead. The nearest Marines were slaughtered by the hail of bullets and the steel claws of the Shaitans. At this close range, even the Shaitans could not miss, lousy shots that they may have been otherwise.
Sarah and the NCOs shouted and ordered the Marines to reach for their weapons, but forget their armor for the moment. An unarmored Marine’s life expectancy against those monster bullets and the sharp steel claws was very low, but there just wasn’t enough time. It was imperative to stem the flow of Shaitans coming out of the hole before the 4th company got overwhelmed.
It was obvious what the Shaitans had tried to achieve. They had tunneled and blown this hole to emerge at the rear of Marines attacking further ahead. The Shaitans hoped to surround the attacking Marines on both sides and thus slaughter them.
The strategy would have been effective, if not for the misfortune of both the Shaitans and the 4th Company that the Shaitans blew a hole right in top of where the 4th Company had camped out in the rear. The strategy might still be successful if the Shaitans could neutralize the 4th Company, which they were likely to do given the state of preparedness of the 4th Company.
Sarah was going to have none of that. The only way to get out of the mess was to do the unexpected. “Second and Third Platoon start withdrawing and move inwards further deep into the tunnel. Make it look like you are withdrawing and running for life. Sgt. Jalloh you stay with the 2nd and the 3rd. First Platoon you do the same, but run towards the surface. Let them feel that we are running in panic. I will be with you, Sgt. Nwosu, you stay with me. Wait for further orders. Best of luck Marines.”
As Sarah had anticipated the Shaitans all followed the two platoons that had headed further deep into the tunnel, since that was their intended direction in any case. None of the Shaitans followed the platoon retreating up towards the surface, exactly what she wanted.
Within a minute the entire area was cleared of the melee, and Sarah ordered the 1st Platoon to round the corner and run back to the site of the explosion. Shaitans were still pouring out of the blasted hole, but in a single file and heading straight down the tunnel. “Fire!” Sarah shouted the moment the blasted hole came into the line of sight of the Marines.
The six Marines Sarah had instructed, who had only picked up their RPGs as they retreated back, now unleashed their weapons on the mouth of the hole. The objective was not so much to kill the Shaitans, although any Shaitan that got killed was an added bonus. The objective was to prevent any more Shaitans from exiting the hole.
Sure enough the flow of Shaitans from the hole stemmed, but now the 1st platoon had caught the attention of the Shaitans who had already exited from the hole. “Sgt. Nwosu, take care of those bastards. Fire team 4, come with me. We have to protect N’gambwe. Pvt. N’gambwe, stay behind me. Get to work when I tell you.” Sarah did not wait for anyone to acknowledge her rapid fire orders. She took off straight for the hole blasted on the side wall of the tunnel.
It didn’t seem to bother Sarah that a bunch of Shaitans were between her and her destination, or that she was wearing no armor, and a single hit from a Shaitan gun would blow her guts out. Thankfully the Shaitans could not shoot while they were running with their limbs, since the gun was attached to one of the limbs. While she may not yet get shot, she was sure to be shredded to pieces by those steel claws on the Shaitans.
Sarah did something which the Shaitans didn’t anticipate. She jump
ed over them. In the 40% gravity of Jehannum, it was possible for a human to jump over a Shaitan, but not by much. If the Shaitans had anticipated, they could have reached out with their outstretched limbs. As it happened, Sarah was able to clear the approaching line of Shaitans and reach the other side.
The Fire team and Pvt. N’gambwe following Sarah were also able to sidestep the Shaitans, but they did not dare jump over the Shaitans. The literally grazed the wall to sidestep the Shaitans, who were being kept busy by Sgt. Nwosu directing a copious amount of fire towards them.
When Sarah reached the hole blown by the Shaitans, she asked the RPG team to cease fire, and concentrate it on the Shaitans advancing towards them. She climbed up the hole and started pumping out her own fire into the darkness preemptively, as did the fire team that followed. Between the five of them, they were able to pump enough fire into the darkness that no Shaitan came out of the hole for a few minutes.
Minutes that Pvt. N’gambwe needed to do his thing. When N’gambwe gave his OK, Sarah and the fire team jumped out of the hole along with Pvt. N’gambwe. When all of them were in the clear, Pvt. N’gambwe shouted ‘Fire in the hole’ to warn all Marines and then triggered the explosion. Explosives had been inserted into deep holes dug with power drills in the ceiling of the tunnel that the Shaitans had dug.
The roof of the tunnel collapsed, sealing the hole once again, at least in the short term. It will have to be monitored, but there was no immediate danger of more Shaitans coming out of that hole. Now all that was left was to deal with the ones that had already emerged from the hole.
“2nd and 3rd Platoon, you can stop running and deal with those bastards now. Let our captain not go unavenged. Let them feel the pain!” Sarah was sobbing slightly when she said that. She could see the lifeless body of Capt. Song buried under rubble lying near her. She fired with a renewed hatred towards the Shaitans.
By the time the 4th Company had killed all the Shaitans, they had lost over 30 of their own. That casualty figure would have been half had they been all wearing armor. The Marines would add that as a standard operating procedure for any Marine entering the Shaitan tunnels. It would be mandatory for all Marines to wear armor and have their weapon next to them at all times when they were inside the tunnels. Unfortunately it came too late for many of the Marines of the 4th company.
When Sarah reached Capt. Song, he was still alive, although on his last breath having been crushed badly. “Well you are in charge now Kali. Take care of my Marines.” That was all Capt. Song could manage to say before he slipped into a coma and then to his death.
Capt. Brogan was down on the surface of Jehannum on one of those rare visits Navy personnel made on Marine turf. He was however here for a personal reason. He had been called specially down here by the General. After the customary greeting and salute, Capt. Brogan asked. “Where is she?”
Ed looked at his aide, who said. “She is in Dr. Kramnik’s lab, sir. Let me show you the way.”
Capt. Brogan entered the large cold room with a hard floor. It had the appearance of a morgue. After a few seconds, Capt. Brogan realized that it was a morgue, but a Shaitan morgue! Rows of Shaitan bodies were stored on the floor and a few on dissection tables. This is where the scientists researched on the Shaitans Dr. Brogan realized. He had heard of this facility, but this was the first time he was seeing it with his own eyes.
At one end of the hall stood a beautiful blonde woman turned away from Capt. Brogan. She had cut her hair to make it as unattractive as possible, and dressed to hide her attractive body as much as possible, just as she had been doing almost all her life. As Capt. Brogan approached the woman, he realized that she was kicking something continuously. It was a dead Shaitans body!
He went and held her from behind lightly. She turned with a start, saw him and buried her face into him and let herself go. Sarah howled as she cried. “I hate them Justin! I hate them again. The captain was the closest person other than you I had here Justin. Ma is dead too. Why do we have to be alone all our lives Justin? Why?!”
Capt. Justin Brogan said softly. “Hey. Hey. Hey princess! We have each other don’t we? We have had each other all our lives. And Pa and Ma live on in us. They may not live on in our genes, but they live on in the values they gave us. I am sorry about Kim, I really liked him too. But you have to get over it little sister. You are a big girl now. You remember that little placard you wrote on that rainy Seattle afternoon? You have nothing more to prove or to hate girl. You have avenged our parents and all the people who died that day.”
Chapter 20
Sting in the Tail
Beware when things go well in a war. It just means that your share of the tragedy is long overdue. – Musings of a war weary Admiral.
Alpha Shaitan System
April 2109
Things were going well now both in space as well as on the ground. The situation in the space had been fine for over a year now. Humans dominated all of the space around Alpha Shaitan system, except the orbit of Jehannum, which still posed surface to space missile threats. That would get rectified in due course of time as the ground battle on Jehannum progressed.
The ground battle had stalled and sputtered for some time on Jehannum, although AS-d, the only other system where the humans had met any significant ground resistance was now completely neutralized and in Human control. It was in fact the de facto human base now to launch the ground campaign on Jehannum.
With the operation ‘Cookie cutter’ a resounding success, now the humans had a beachhead on Jehannum. It was only a matter of time before a decent foothold would be established on Jehannum. Whether the humans persisted in taking over the entire moon, or just being content with keeping the Shaitans bottled on it, did not make a huge difference to the larger military picture.
Alpha Shaitan system had been pacified and resistance effectively neutralized. As long as the USC maintained a reasonable presence in the Alpha Shaitan system, there would be no threat anymore from the Shaitan here. Humans had for all intents and purposes won this campaign. Unless the Shaitans in other worlds persisted in attacking Earth or came here to Alpha Shaitan system to avenge their defeat. Humans have effectively won the war.
The navy was from now on going to essentially play a supporting role in the campaign. All the action had shifted to the ground and specifically the surface of Jehannum. From here on it was the show of Nutcase and his boys… and girls Hamid had to remind himself. He recollected the fiery sister of his flag captain and the name she had chosen for herself. He more than most understood the significance of that name – Kali. Goddess of retribution and death. He often wondered what made a German/American choose that name.
Still Admiral Hamid Dar was relaxed for the first time in this campaign after so many years. He had taken the time out to study and appreciate the dark beauty of this place after being here for so many years. The first relief ships were on their way to the Alpha Shaitan system. It would bring in much needed spares and supplies as well as fresh Marines for the ground campaign. Number of Marines was the single biggest issue for this campaign now. 2000 Marines could not be expected to take over an entire world, however good they were.
Two relief ships would be here in less than two years’ time. They were meant to rotate out the crews of the Avenger and Kali. The bigger headache would be for his friend Nutcase, when that time for rotation came. It was unlikely that the ground campaign would have come to an end by that time for him to be able to let half of his marines return home. Yet the Marines would have completed their unprecedented commission, which had earned them the title of Tyagi Legionnaires. There was no way Nutcase could ask them to serve more time, if they chose to return home. The Tyagi Legionnaires would have done their time and sacrificed the best part of their lives in the service of humanity.
Those were problems for the future and for his friend Nutcase. For the moment Admiral Dar could spend his time in a relaxed atmosphere, as the captains of the ships ran the routine operations. Hamid had star
ted writing his memoirs about this campaign. He looked forwards to another two years of peaceful deployment in Alpha Shaitan, before the long trip home, which he would be sleeping most of the time. The entire trip would feel like just over a year, although in reality it would be over 6 years.
Admiral Dar forced himself to keep a regular routine during these slack days, to ensure that military discipline, which started with him and went all the way to the bottom did not slack. He had to lead by example, just like all military leader. So he forced himself every morning into his Flag Bridge, which was also his office, at 9 AM sharp.
There was not much to read in the routine reports and dispatches, but Admiral Dar forced himself to read them nonetheless. That was what constituted discipline. The daily fleet position report said the exact thing it had said yesterday. The Avenger was holding on top of Jehannum in high orbit. It was here to support the ground forces based out of the Amundsen base. It was on condition 3 alert in vigilance of any potential surface missile attack. That was also the reason the Avenger was in high orbit, rather than low orbit, where it could have supported the ground troops much better.
The Redeemer was in orbit of AS-d, although the moon was increasingly referred as the ‘Devil’s Workshop’, or simply the ‘Workshop’. The Avenger had relieved the Redeemer, which had previously been holding position over Jehannum. AS-d was the de facto human base, and the place where the crew and the Marines went for R&R. It was also the place for planned maintenance of the ships, and minor refits.
Retribution (Shaitan Wars) Page 33