Bree nodded and quickly contacted the eight light cruisers, ordering them to engage the assault ships. She felt confident the three-hundred-meter ships could handle the Kleese vessels.
“Firing particle beam cannons,” reported Lieutenant Fields.
Bree looked expectantly at the viewscreen, now showing the Kleese exploration ship. The massive vessel filled the screen.
-
From the Callisto, two powerful particle beams flashed out to impact the screen of the exploration ship. The vessel was already under heavy attack from the three battlecruisers. The screen flared up brightly under the attack and then the plasma cannon fired. The plasma beam overloaded the screen in the area of the particle beam strike and penetrated. In a massive blast, the exploration ship shook as a deep glowing crater appeared where the beam had struck its hull. Debris floated free of the ship, and several secondary explosions blew more hull material out into space.
On board the exploration ship, panicked conscripts rushed to escape the damaged area of the vessel as emergency bulkheads slammed shut. Fires and smoke filled the corridors dooming those unfortunate enough to become sealed in. Several more explosions rattled the huge ship as power junctions shorted out.
However, the exploration ship was huge and heavily armed and shrugged off the damage. Its own pulse fusion beams and energy beams were focused on the attacking Human battlecruisers. Numerous hatches on the hull of the ship suddenly slid open, and dozens of antimatter missiles were fired toward the Human vessels. However, instead of targeting all three of the battlecruisers, all the missiles struck just one. The battlecruiser Carina seemed to vanish under the powerful onslaught of antimatter energy. The Kleese commander of the exploration ship, sensing an opportunity, also fired a heavy barrage of pulse fusion beams at the vessel. Several penetrated the overtaxed screen and drilled deep glowing pits into the side of the ship. The Carina seemed to shudder violently as several secondary explosions caused additional damage inside the vessel, blowing out bulkheads and spreading fires throughout the ship.
Half a dozen Kleese energy beams flashed through the weakening energy screen and began tearing open compartment after compartment. With a sudden flash of bright light the Carina exploded, sending glowing debris in all directions.
-
“Battlecruiser Carina is down,” reported a stunned Ensign Davis. “She just blew apart!”
Bree felt a cold shiver run down her spine. “Hit that exploration ship with our multi-warhead missiles. We need to finish it off before we lose any more ships.”
“Marine assault cruisers are dropping out of Fold Space,” Davis added as nine more green icons suddenly flashed into existence on the tactical screen.
Bree quickly ordered them to stay back and out of the fighting.
“Launching missiles,” said Lieutenant Fields.
“I have two assault ships exiting the flight bays of the exploration ship,” called out Ensign Davis.
Bree knew she needed to destroy the exploration ship quickly before it could launch its full complement of assault ships. If that were to happen, then the battle could quickly turn in favor of the Kleese.
-
Multi-warhead missiles began to slam into the Kleese exploration ship, all in the same area where the shield had already been weakened. The other two remaining battlecruisers were also firing missiles as well as their beam weapons.
From the Kleese ship, another assault ship exited and then a missile penetrated the screen and struck the exploration vessel. Six twenty megaton explosions shook the massive Kleese ship. For a moment, it seemed as if it would survive, but then it began coming apart. The exploration ship broke into five sections, all with fires raging inside. More missiles struck, obliterating the sections and turning them into glowing gas and molten metal.
-
“Kleese exploration ship is down,” reported Ensign Davis with relief in her voice.
“A bright light suddenly lit up one of the viewscreens.
“What was that?” Commander Symington demanded. She knew a ship had just died.
“One of our light cruisers,” Davis reported. “The Aquila is down.”
Bree quickly ordered the Falcon and the Cygnus to help the light cruisers with the Kleese assault ships.
She looked at the viewscreens which showed the two large space stations in orbit. She knew the Kleese controlled these and there were Kleese on board as well as numerous conscripts. She wasn’t going to risk a boarding action to capture the stations; it would be too costly.
“Are those two stations armed?”
“Only lightly,” Ensign Davis answered. “Sensors are picking up a few energy weapon turrets but nothing else, not even an energy shield.”
“They never expected an attack here,” Bree said, nodding her head in satisfaction.
“Hit both stations with a multi-warhead missile. I want them annihilated.” She had already lost two valuable ships, and there was no doubt that the Kleese commander in charge of this system was on board one of the two stations.
-
From the Callisto, two more multi-warhead missiles flashed out from the missile tubes and streaked toward the stations. Moments later, six miniature suns appeared at each and the stations were no more.
-
“Both stations have been destroyed,” confirmed Ensign Davis.
Bree nodded. “Move us toward the nearest assault ship and we’ll help the battlecruisers and light cruisers take them out. We need to end this battle so the assault cruisers can send down their Marines.”
“We have several cargo ships leaving the system,” Davis added as she watched the two ships accelerate away from the battle in preparation for entering Fold Space.
“Let them go,” Bree said, dismissing them as a threat. “We’re not here to kill helpless civilians.”
-
On board the smaller of the two cargo ships, Caleeb was watching several viewscreens in the ship’s small control center. He hadn’t been surprised when the Humans had destroyed the second exploration cruiser. He had been shocked with how swiftly they had annihilated the two space stations with Zaltule like efficiency. He had been right all along; these Humans were not a race to be trifled with.
“Take us to Zaroth Three,” Caleeb ordered in a cold voice. It didn’t seem as if the Humans were interested in the cargo ships. He would make his escape now before they changed their minds.
“By your command,” replied Antolth. Caleeb had brought a number of Nabians on board to operate the small cargo ship.
There was a small Kleese compound at Zaroth Three with an FTL transmitter he could use to spread the word of the Human attack on Anglesh. He was curious if the Humans would still be at Anglesh the next day as the Zaltule battlecruiser was due to arrive. Unfortunately, there was no way he could contact the ship and inform them of what might be awaiting them.
Moments later, the cargo ship activated its Fold Space Drive and left the Anglesh System behind.
-
Captain Ryan Nelson was in the Command Center of the Deliverance watching the battle on the viewscreens and the tactical screen. With a groan of despair, he saw two Kleese assault ships bracket the already damaged light cruiser Swiftsure and begin pummeling its energy screen with pulse fusion beams as well as antimatter missiles. He knew the small cruiser wouldn’t last long under that punishing attack.
“They need to get out of there,” said Commander Durham as he watched the battle on the viewscreen. The light cruiser was nearly invisible due to the brilliant flashes of light from the antimatter missiles exploding against its energy screen.”
“They can’t,” called out Ensign Ernst from Communications. “Their subspace drive’s been damaged, and they only have enough power to stay in orbit.”
Another bright flash lit up the viewscreen and when it died away, the stern of the light cruiser was gone. Several more explosions wracked the ship, blowing out large segments of the hull. Then another Kleese antimatter missile arriv
ed and the ship was obliterated.
“Swiftsure is down,” reported Ensign Donna Edwards in a subdued voice.
On the screen, the Callisto appeared and began to engage the two Kleese assault ships. It didn’t take long and both vessels were reduced to molten slag. It almost seemed as if the Callisto was out for revenge for what the two Kleese vessels had done to her smaller sister.
“All Kleese assault ships have been eliminated,” reported Ensign Edwards. “Commander Symington is giving us the go ahead to make orbit and begin operations against the Kleese compound on the surface.”
Captain Durham nodded his head. “Take us in.” Then, turning toward Ryan, he added. “Better get your Marines ready, we’ll be deploying them shortly.”
Ryan quickly left the Command Center. Since Major Winfrey had been killed, there had been a shakeup in the Marine command structure. Captain Olivia Morris had assumed overall command of all the remaining Marines and Ryan had taken over the role of second in command. Captain Stern and Captain Taylor were still on board the Callisto recovering from the disaster at Lymeth Three.
-
The Deliverance and the other eight Marine assault cruisers went into orbit over Anglesh. There were no attempts from the government of the planet to contact the orbiting fleet. The Kleese in the compound were controlling all communications.
-
In the compound, armored conscripts were sent out and ordered to bring in hundreds of the planet’s citizens. It was unfortunate that the only FTL communicator had been in one of the two orbiting space stations. The Kleese now had no way to inform the empire of what had transpired above. However, the Kleese had a large army of conscripts since their compound and the two stations had been responsible for the control of a large number of inhabited systems in the local area. By rounding up hundreds of the planet’s inhabitants and bringing them inside, they felt it might prevent the Humans from bombarding the compound from orbit. From the reports they had received of past attacks, the Humans seemed to go out of their way to hold casualties of the planet’s inhabitants to a minimum. The Kleese would now use that weakness against them.
-
Ryan felt the drop ship leave the Deliverance and begin its rapid entry into the planet’s atmosphere. They were going to land outside the compound and spend some time observing it to see just how many of the planet’s inhabitants might be inside. If it were a minimal number, then railgun strikes from the orbiting assault cruisers would be used to destroy it. If there were a large number of civilians, then it would be necessary to move in and kill the Kleese and their conscripts while freeing the civilians.
The drop ship began to vibrate from its passage through the thicker regions of the planet’s atmosphere. A roaring noise could be heard from the passing air as it was heated up by the ship’s rapid passage. Then a few minutes later, the ship suddenly dropped straight down and landed with a resounding thud, jarring the Marines. The hatch slid open and the ramp descended.
“Everyone out!” barked Sergeant Reinhardt, gripping his RG rifle.
The Marines quickly vacated the drop ship with Ryan following close behind. Pausing on the ramp Ryan gazed about, not seeing any signs of resistance to their landing.
“No conscripts nearby,” Reinhardt reported from the base of the ramp where he was standing and surveying the immediate area.
Ryan paused and ordered his neural implant to have his command suit use its internal sensors to scan the area around them. They were in a park like area with a few unfamiliar looking trees and tall grass. Glancing at his HUD, he saw the sensors weren’t picking up any obvious danger. Over his comm, he heard other platoon leaders begin to report in.
“Our sector is clear,” reported Lieutenant Guthrie.
“No sign of any conscripts,” reported Sergeant Katy Lewis.
The reports continued and all were the same. If there were any conscripts, they were inside the large Kleese compound.
“Captain Nelson, I’m sending a drone over the compound to see what’s there,” said Captain Morris. Most of the hover tanks had one or two small drones they could deploy to scan the enemy’s positions.
There were a few minutes of silence as the Marines moved away from the drop ships and headed cautiously toward the compound. From the cargo drop ships, hover tanks floated out and took up covering positions behind the advancing Marines. Marines in Type Three battlesuits appeared and spread out around the tanks.
“Damn,” muttered Captain Morris over the command channel. “There must be a thousand civilians in that compound. I had the drone fly directly over and it’s full of civilians.”
“The Kleese are using them for cover,” commented Ryan, as he looked at all the friendly green icons on his HUD screen. “We’ll have to do this the hard way.” It didn’t surprise him that the Kleese were using this tactic. The deaths of innocent civilians meant nothing to them.
There were a few moments of silence and then Captain Morris spoke again. “I’ll hit them from the west with my Marines. Captain Nelson, you will hit them from the north with yours. Move out and we’ll make a coordinated attack in twelve minutes.”
Ryan took a deep breath. They had landed nine hundred Marines with most of them in Type Four battlesuits. There was one Marine platoon from each ship in the larger and bulkier Type Threes. They were responsible for the security of the hover tanks.
“Move out,” ordered Ryan over the command channel that connected him to Lieutenant Guthrie and the platoon sergeants. “Look out for popups, there are bound to be some.”
-
“Damn popups,” muttered Corporal Parker. “Why are there always popups?”
“Because these are Kleese and they always deploy popups,” Lauren answered. “Just stay out of sight so they won’t target your big ass.”
Alexander didn’t respond because his suit was the exact same size as Lauren’s. All Type Fours were exactly the same with the only difference being whether the Marine was carrying an RG rifle or a portable energy cannon.
-
The Marines slowly moved up toward the Kleese compound. Sure enough, when they got within two hundred meters of it, popup weapons emerged from the blastcrete that surrounded the compound and opened fire. Several Marines instantly fell to the ground, their green icons turning amber and then red.
“Everyone halt and take cover!” Ryan ordered. “Sergeant McElroy, have the hover tanks place a series of explosive rounds between us and that compound. I want those popups blown apart!” Ryan wasn’t going to risk any more of his Marines now that he knew where the weapons were.
-
Sergeant McElroy stepped over to the nearest hover tank and rapped on the hull with his armor encased hand after receiving the captain’s orders. He had eight tanks under his command. For this attack, several other assault cruisers had sent their Marines and hover tanks down to reinforce Captain Nelson. With a wolfish smile, McElroy looked at the eight tanks now waiting in a staggered line for his orders. There were also four full platoons of Type Three battlesuits to protect them.
“I want explosive rounds beginning at fifty meters in front of our Marines and then subsequent rounds dropped every ten meters until they reach the outer wall of the Kleese compound,” he ordered the eight tank commanders.
McElroy watched as the small tubes on the back of the tanks elevated themselves and then heard a whooshing noise as the tanks began firing. McElroy knew the tanks were capable of firing several rounds per second from their tubes and the blasts from these explosive rounds were ten times more powerful than a grenade. Each tank had two of the explosive round tubes on them and both were firing. That was thirty-two rounds per second that were going to drop on the popups and the area directly in front of the Kleese compound. They would make quick work of the popups and anything else that might be in that area.
-
Ryan was standing behind a small stone wall when the first rounds struck. Pieces of blastcrete were hurled high into the air, and the ground seemed to
shake from each detonation. Whenever a popup was hit, there would be a bright flash of light, fire, and then billowing gray smoke rising up into the air.
“That’s cutting them down to size,” Lieutenant Guthrie commented from her advanced position. Some of the rounds were hitting within thirty meters of her position, causing her to hunker down. Some of the debris from the blasts was even raining down on her battlesuit.
“I hate popups,” muttered Alexander over the comm channel. “I just love to see them blown to pieces like this.”
As the explosions continued and steadily marched toward the walls of the Kleese compound, Lauren added her own comment. “As near as I can tell, all of the popups in my area have been eliminated.”
Over the next few minutes, all the different platoons reported the same. Ryan was also aware of explosive rounds going off in front of Captain Morris’s Marines as well. Then it suddenly became quiet as the rounds ceased falling.
“Advance,” ordered Ryan. “Sergeant McElroy, I need two of your hover tanks. I want some holes blown in the wall that surrounds the Kleese compound.”
“On their way,” McElroy responded.
Ryan stood up and used his neural implant to connect to the sensors in his command suit. Looking toward the Kleese compound, he directed his sensors toward it. The compound consisted of six tall ten-story buildings with a large courtyard surrounding them. There were a good one hundred meters between the buildings and the wall that surrounded the compound. The wall itself was only five meters tall with two large metal gates allowing entrance. Both of the gates were currently shut.
The two hover tanks arrived and Ryan stepped over to speak with the corporal in charge of the nearest.
“Captain,” the corporal spoke with respect in his voice. He was standing with his upper chest, shoulders, and head sticking out of the open metal hatch. “You called for two hover tanks?”
“Yes,” Ryan answered and pointed toward the compound. “See that large metal gate in the center of that wall? I need you to knock it down.”
Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) Page 23