by Saxon Andrew
“We have eighty-nine remaining ships. We have lost one of our empire class battle ships, four cruisers, and six destroyers for a total of eleven ships lost against 155 of theirs.”
“Assign two ships to each of the remaining Alliance ships and let’s complete this operation,” Kosiev ordered. “What happened to the Alliance troop transports?”
“Just as you said, sir, they ran to the planet’s surface.”
Kosiev looked at Tag and said, “I’m glad you were here to anticipate that. We probably need to start giving support to our marines. We can let the blocking force handle the escapee. They’ll feel like they’ve taken part in the action.”
“I agree. Besides, didn’t you assign all of your ships to finish the Alliance presence in this system? Pick out the one you want and let’s finish this business.”
Admiral Ecsra accelerated out of the Ross system toward the safety of the star drive limit, where he could jump to safety. He was in a state of shock at what had happened to his fleet. No one could have guessed that the Earth ships were capable of what he saw. They were things that inhabit an admiral’s nightmares. Ships that wouldn’t die no matter how much energy or missiles were fired at them. Nothing could withstand a dreadnought’s fire power except another dreadnought. That was a fact that had been proven in endless battles. Only he had seen one of their small battleships withstand the fire of six dreadnoughts for twenty minutes before it exploded. Then the next one handled that fire and destroyed two of them. Two of those small ships destroyed six dreadnoughts. The Alliance had to be warned. “Are they chasing us?” Admiral Ecsra asked.
“No sir,” his sensor officer said. “One of those medium Earth battleships started to move our way, then turned around and attacked one of our remaining battleships.”
Ecsra didn’t need to ask the outcome of that engagement. The Alliance battleship didn’t stand a chance against that demon ship.
“Sir, all of our ships have been destroyed or severely damaged. We’re the only one to escape.”
“How many ships attacked us?”
“Sir, they only used one hundred ships.”
“How many did we destroy?”
“According to our sensor log, no more than fifteen were killed.”
The Admiral was stunned speechless. “How many ships do they have?” he wondered. “Maybe all they have are those one hundred ships.”
“Sir. Sir!”
Admiral Ecsra looked at his sensor officer and saw in his face the fear he was starting to feel. “What?”
“Sir, our sensors show more than 180 of those human warships powering up their screens on all sides of us. Twenty of those battleships are moving in to intercept us; what are your orders, sir?”
Admiral Ecsra was beyond giving any orders. All he could do was stare at the screen and mumble over and over, “Why did we have to start this?”
Chapter 28
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Wiseman stood in front of his men in front of the Rossville concentration camp and could see their nervousness. He could hear his weapon floaters broadcasting to the civilian population to return to the camp so they could be protected. Most of them had left as soon as the Alliance ground troops evacuated, but fortunately they had not had time to go very far before Wiseman landed. His battalion was assigned to liberate the largest camp, which was just outside Rossville. There were over thirty thousand unarmed civilians that had been staying there in terrible conditions. Fortunately, most of them listened to the broadcast and were returning. His engineers had set up the small black hole reactor and the Coronado screen was already in place over the camp. The camp was located in the middle of a flat floodplain surrounded by high hills. The green valley was lush with plant life and farms that the colonists had been farming before the Cainth occupation. He saw that the Cainth would have to come down the middle of that plain to retake the concentration camp. “Now if our navy is successful up there, we might get out of this alive,” he thought. “We have to hold out until they can support us.” He looked at his troops in their shiny new armor and understood their fears.
“Sir, all men present and accounted for, sir,” his sergeant major reported.
“At ease, men.” He stood in front of them and said through his armored suit’s radio so every one of them could hear, “You all know why we’re here. That much of our mission is obvious. What I want to make sure of is that you know why we are here. How much do any of you know about ancient Earth marine traditions? A young man that rescued me from myself taught me some of the valuable lessons of our past. Before mankind laid down their weapons and embraced peace, it was the marines that were called on to handle the toughest combat roles. They lived by a code that made them stronger together than they were individually. Our history books tell us about their victories, defeats, and bravery. It all derived from their simple code, semper fidelis.” Wiseman could see a number of his men looking at each other. “It comes from a truly ancient language called Latin that was used by the earliest world power on Earth called Rome. It simply means ‘always faithful.’ The marines would not leave their wounded on a battlefield. They would endanger themselves to protect their brothers in arms, often causing their own death. The marines were a brotherhood that meant much more to them than simple words could explain. They knew to their core that their well-being was being watched over by all of their comrades. They also knew the importance of their mission and the importance of being faithful to the ones that sent them. Now we stand here today about to face an enemy that outnumbers us and probably outguns us as well. We are the new marines of mankind. We as a people have not engaged in combat for more than four hundred years, and yet here we are. Our ancient brothers established their reputation, their traditions, and their memories in blood on hundreds of battlefields. Today, you will have the rare honor of making our new traditions. Your future brothers in arms will look back at today and see the example you give them. We face an enemy that wants to exterminate our species. If we don’t send them a message here of what the cost will be to accomplish that, then we should be deeply ashamed of ourselves. Some of you wonder about why a criminal was made your commanding officer, and I must humbly respond to you, so do I. But this much I can promise you: I will always be faithful to you. I will not leave you cut off to die or leave you behind. If there is power in my armor, I will be at your back. I pledge to every one of you semper fidelis. Semper fi,” he yelled into his mike and heard all his men answer together, “Semper fi.”
“Dismissed,” he said.
“Attention!” Richard’s adjutant said. The marines came to attention and saluted their commander. They then turned to each other, and all of them could see in each other’s eyes that something was born here today that each of them would never forget. “Move to your positions, men. Fleet reports the Alliance transports are entering atmosphere.”
The Alliance ground commander was frustrated and frightened. The fleet was being chewed up by ships one-third their size. He ordered his troop ships ground-side as soon as the dreadnought covering his transports was destroyed by three of the Earth cruisers. If things went bad up there, he had to capture the human colonists on the planet to negotiate for his safety, or to hold until the main fleet arrived. He ordered two regiments to retake the camp at Rossville since it was the largest.
Richard had taken the fortifications of the Cainth invaders and added small Coronado screens to cover them. The screens had not been tested in battle but looked good during their earlier tests. Even the marines’ armor used a smaller version. The new power cell technology extended the time they could fight before having to recharge. The civilians were inside the main screen and his battalion was in place around its perimeter. “Sir, regiment reports that massive Alliance forces are heading our way, probably two regiments. We will be supported as soon as possible, but you must hold out until relief arrives.”
“And so it begins,” he thought. “Perhaps now I can atone for my sins.”
“Sir, the humans have lande
d ground forces and they have set up a defensive perimeter at the camps,” General Dorg’s communications leader said.
“How strong are they at Rossville?” Dorg asked.
“It looks like they have a full mechanized heavy weapon battalion dug in there,” the communications leader responded.
“Only a battalion; two regiments should be plenty. Land our forces, then ask for their surrender. These humans haven’t fought a war. They’re basically pacifists and they should roll over without a fight.”
“You should tell that to those ships of theirs up there, sir. It may not be as easy as you think.”
“Sir, we have two regiments of Alliance assault troops landing twenty miles to the west. They’re forming up and moving this way. We’ve just received a message from the Alliance ground commander and he requests a meeting with you to discuss surrender,” Richard’s communication officer said.
“Have him drop by, Lieutenant. I’d like to get a feel for him. Tell our men to dig in deep and make sure they have vertical as well as forward coverage of their screens. Have our heavy floaters been hidden?”
“Yes sir. They are dug in underground on each side of the valley. Only their visual port is above ground. I’ll make sure they are well camouflaged.”
“Here comes the Alliance representative.”
The Alliance floater settled just outside the town, flashing a blue and green strobe indicating its purpose of peaceful meeting. No one would ever consider violating a truce strobe. The last commander to do that had been summarily executed on the spot when they returned from the meeting, and all his family members were later executed. Richard Wiseman walked out to the Alliance floater and said, “Lieutenant Colonel Wiseman, Fifth Battalion Naval Marines. How can I be of service?”
The Alliance Colonel looked at the human and said in a voice that was almost a sneer, “I’m going to give you and your men the opportunity to surrender and live. We will destroy you and all your civilians if you resist. We will allow you to live until our fleet arrives and removes the problem overhead.”
“I do humbly appreciate your offer, sir,” Richard said. “I know it was given with the best of intentions, seeing as how you and your troops have taken such good care of our people while you incarcerated them. And that bit with the hostages, using lasers to kill unarmed civilians. I can see how brave you and you troops are. One of the things my men truly look forward to is seeing how good you are when the hostages are capable of fighting back.”
“You are surrounded by twenty-four companies to your six. We have heavier weapons and we control the air. You have no chance. You’ll be responsible for the death of all those you think you’re protecting,” the captain replied.
Richard had made sure the conversation was being relayed to all his men and to the civilians inside the screen. “We have learned from experience, sir, that the Alliance only deals death. Your assurances are meaningless, and I speak for all those I protect; if you choose to attack with two regiments, you will not have more than one company survive. You will learn this day what price we place on our lives. It will be a day your race will never forget.”
The Alliance colonel looked into the human’s eyes and could see the barely restrained anger and the steel resolve. He was going to teach the humans some respect, but the look of this soldier chilled him. He turned without a word and left.
As Richard walked back to his headquarters, he could hear a chat start on the general com frequency, “Wise-man, Wise-man, Wise-man.” It grew louder and louder until all thirty thousand civilians were yelling with the troops.
“Now we’re ready,” Richard thought. “Let’s see how good our weapons are. Our ships are clearly superior. The Alliance fools have not seen what real fighting armor can do. Our ships can handle four-to-one odds. Four to one should be easy. I hope.”
The colonel landed and informed General Dorg of the meeting. General Dorg sneered and ordered, “Begin the bombardment immediately.” Fifty heavy floaters roared out toward the human positions.
Richard heard on the general com frequency, “Beam floaters coming in from the west, estimate fifty-plus.”
Richard said, “Company commanders, launch hornets one through fifty.” Each marine had four of the small missiles on their back loader. They had been numbered one through four thousand. Each man knew what their missiles were numbered and launched when their number was called. The small missiles were amazingly fast and carried a fully charged and sealed Coronado power cell. When the missile struck it would shatter the seal on the power cell and it would instantly release its entire energy charge. Each of those cells had absorbed the energy from three primary lasers for one hour. They carried quite a punch, as these floaters were about to discover. The command was heard over the communications net and fifty hornets zipped into the air and headed west. Once they cleared the troop’s positions, they shed the armor protector from the warhead and began looking for a target. The small missile’s sensor used the Coronado cell’s field leakage to sense its target. Once it detected a target, it shrunk the field to a straight line and directed it on the target. Every hornet was programmed to ignore targets that were illuminated by the shrunk fields of other hornets.
The Alliance commander was watching the floaters roar toward the human positions on his view screen and was looking forward to seeing the humans have the groad blown out of them. Suddenly, all fifty Alliance floaters exploded within ten seconds of each other. They didn’t even have time to evade whatever it was that hit them, and there was no wreckage. Whatever struck the floaters vaporized them. “Launch one hundred and have them come in low from different directions. Spread them out,” he ordered. One hundred floaters lifted and, staying close to the ground, moved toward the humans’ lines.
“Sir, we have multiple readings on floaters,” Lieutenant Dunn said. “They’re staying low to avoid detection.”
“It won’t help them,” Richard said. “We have a satellite overhead with passive sensors. They’ll never see it, but it sees everything they do. Launch fifty-one through 150 hornets, Commander. Send them vertical to read their locations.” The hornets launched straight up to three thousand feet, and then started picking out their targets. Not one floater got through.
The Alliance headquarters was in a state of disarray. The little missiles were so small and flew so fast that the Alliance sensors had not even picked one up. They had received a brief blip when they went vertical, but it had disappeared immediately. General Dorg said, “I have lost 40 percent of our air units and have not hit anything. Floaters stand no chance against their defenses. Start an artillery barrage and prepare the assault troops for attack.” The general was hoping that his brother would arrive with the fleet soon. He didn’t like what he was seeing.
“Artillery coming in, sir.”
“Expand the field,” Richard commanded. The portable screen covering the camp expanded until it covered the troop positions. He felt safe that no amount of artillery was going to get through the screen. When they moved heavy particle beams into position, that would be another story and he would have to shrink the screen to increase its strength. He was right so far. The artillery was exploding harmlessly four hundred yards from their positions. “I wonder if they can see this,” he thought.
General Dorg was pounding his four arms against the display. “Nothing is getting through,” he realized. ”Floaters, artillery, nothing.”
“Sir, our heavy particle weapons might get through that screen if our readings are right,” Dorg’s sensor officer said.
“You mean a frontal assault is the only way to get at these humans,” the general screamed.
“Unless you can get one of our ships overhead to hit them with a primary laser, yes sir, it is.”
“We can’t even communicate with them. The humans have somehow disrupted our long-range communications. Order the first regiment to begin their ground assault.”
“Alright boys, this is where we earn our keep. Contract the screen; pull the civil
ians in as tight as possible. It should hold up to heavy particle weapons if we can contract it to seven hundred yards. Pass on to the company commanders that the Alliance heavy weapons will probably target the screen covering the civilians first. Release all troops to use their hornets against any target of opportunity that shows itself, particularly heavy weapons. Stay low and behind your screens. Make sure your rifles are energized and use your suit sensors to pick your targets. Good hunting, men. We have to hold until help arrives. Make me proud.”
Jeremy Watson and Alonso Singh waited in their spider trap. They were members of Alpha company’s first squad, which was camouflaged four hundred yards in front of the defensive positions. They had dug a hole and crawled in, and then used their screen as a roof. Other marines then covered their lair with dirt, shrubbery, and grass to camouflage it. Each company had placed one squad out from their perimeter. Their job was to wait for the Alliance infantry to pass, and then go after their heavy weapons. They would then turn on the infantry and fight their way back to their lines. “Al, are they sure this screen will hold the weight of a heavy weapons platform?” Jeremy asked.
“The old man says it will,” Alonso replied. “That’s good enough for me. It’s the fighting-our-way-back that has me concerned.”
“I’ve got your back, Al.”
“Jer, I have a wife and three children waiting for me. If I don’t make it, will you deliver the letter in my back harness?”
“You’re going to make it, Al.”
“But if I don’t and you do, will you make sure they get it?”
“Semper fi, brother.”
“Here they come,” Alonso said. The two marines watched their display as the Alliance regiment moved forward. There were hundreds of drop troops moving across the landscape, kicking up dust as they changed direction to avoid the humans’ energy weapons. It was easy to see that these were well-disciplined troops. Jeremy turned up his magnification and saw the heavy weapon platforms moving about four hundred yards behind the troops. The members of first squad turned off their armor and waited for the ground forces to pass. They would receive a signal from company HQ when the heavy weapons were spotted by satellite.