The corporal stared at the gate for a moment and then nodded. “No problem.”
“I also need areas of that wall knocked down for our Marines to go through.” The Type Four battlesuits were capable of limited flight with their repeller units but that also made the Marines easy targets.
“Can do,” the corporal answered as he quickly communicated the order to the other tank commander.
Ryan watched as the tank’s energy cannon swiveled around until it was lined up with the gate. Stepping back, Ryan turned his attention toward the Kleese compound. He flinched slightly as a white beam of concentrated energy suddenly leaped out and struck the center of the metal gate. The gate exploded into a thousand pieces. At the same time, the RG canons on the two tanks began hammering away at the wall. Large sections seemed to simply disintegrate, sending plumes of dust into the air. The walls were made of blastcrete, but even a wall as strong as this one couldn’t stand up to the deadly rounds and the kinetic energy they released upon impact.
“Advance,” ordered Ryan as he began moving toward the openings. “I want civilian casualties held to a minimum.”
The Marines moved quickly toward the gate and the crumbled sections of the wall.
“I have movement,” reported Sergeant Lewis.
“Same here,” added Sergeant Reinhardt. “I can see a lot of conscripts in Type Two battlesuits moving through the civilians and toward the openings in the wall.”
“Same thing on our side,” Captain Morris said. “I think they’re coming out.”
-
From the Kleese compound, hundreds of conscripts in Type Two battlesuits came swarming through the crumbled walls. The hover tanks opened up, sending streams of RG rounds into the charging conscripts. Dozens fell only to be replaced by more. More tanks advanced and additional RG rounds slammed into the conscripts, dropping even more of them.
“There’s too many,” Sergeant Hunter said over the command channel. “There must be over a thousand of them!”
“All Marines, prepare to engage,” ordered Ryan as he clicked off the safety on his RG rifle.
“Sergeant Dewey and Lewis, it looks as if your area’s going to be hit first. Hold your ground,” ordered Lieutenant Guthrie.
-
Casey aimed her RG rifle at the nearest conscript, now less than thirty meters away, and began firing. Around her, the other Marines with her began doing the same. RG rounds, energy beams, and occasional explosive rounds hit the conscripts, dropping many of them. But still they came on. She heard a scream and on her HUD saw a green icon turn amber and then red. With shock, she saw it was Private Jasmine Hopper.
Jasmine had operated the sensor console on the assault ship they escaped on when they fled to Delton. More icons turned from green to amber. Suddenly, energy beams began to hit her Marines. Using her suit sensors she saw a number of Type Three battlesuits suddenly emerge from the compound and join the conscripts. Looking at the new threat icons, she saw there were nearly one hundred of them.
“Be warned,” Ryan’s voice came over the command channel. “It looks as if the Kleese have joined the battle; they’re the ones in the Type Three suits. Sergeant McElroy, I want all of your Marines up here now. We’re going to need everyone.”
“Kleese!” roared Alexander over the regular comm channel. “I’m glad they came out; now we can kill them!”
“Be careful, Alexander,” Lauren’s concerned voice sounded over the comm. “Those are Type Three suits and impervious to our Energy Lances.”
-
The conscripts and the Kleese were suddenly upon the Marines. Casey drew her Energy Lance and activated it. Instantly a shimmering rod of energy one meter long appeared. It could cut through almost anything. Swinging it at the nearest conscript, the lance cut completely through the battlesuit, cleaving the suit in two.
Around Casey, other Marines had drawn their lances and were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Others were using their RG rifles, trying to take out the Kleese who were mixed in with the conscripts. The intensity of the battle suddenly ratcheted up as the two sides became intermixed. Casey saw with trepidation that several of the Kleese were brandishing Energy Lances. The Kleese would soon realize the armor of the Type Four suits was impervious to the lances. Nevertheless, it was a fearsome sight to see the Kleese this way.
On the HUD in Casey’s suit more green icons turned amber and then red. Marines were dying; a lot of them. Suddenly another familiar green icon turned from green, to amber, to red. With a chill, Casey saw Private Cameron Swen had been killed. Cameron had been with the platoon for a long time. Swinging her lance, she decapitated a conscript who had come too close. “That one’s for Cameron,” she said in anger.
-
“Watch it, Lauren!” yelled Alexander as he saw a Kleese aiming an energy cannon at Lauren’s back. With a flying leap and using his boot repellers, he slammed into the Kleese just as he fired his weapon. The two rolled and Alexander stumbled back to his feet. At point blank range he fired half a dozen RG rounds into the faceplate of the Type Three battlesuit, watching it shatter then pulverizing the triangular shaped head of the Kleese inside.
With a sigh of relief, Alexander turned back toward Lauren to see her lying on her back, unmoving. He hurried over and bent down looking for any signs of an injury. In her side were the ugly burns from an energy cannon. It looked as if it had penetrated her suit.
“Lauren?” asked Alexander, looking for any signs of life.
“Alexander?” Lauren’s voice came back in barely a whisper. “I guess I forgot to duck.”
“How badly are you hit?” Alexander asked. Around him, the fighting continued but he was oblivious to it.
“Bad,” Lauren said with a moan. “I’ve activated the emergency medical nanites, but I don’t know if that’s going to be good enough.” Lauren coughed several times before she spoke again. “Alexander, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Alexander replied not sure what Lauren meant. Looking quickly around, he saw Privates Hatterson, Richards, and a few other Marines were standing close by keeping the conscripts occupied.
“For being so mean to you,” Lauren said. “I really do care for you.” With those words, Lauren’s voice faded away.
“Lauren!” screamed Alexander. “Don’t you dare leave me!”
“Alexander, get Lauren back to the drop ship and up to the Deliverance!” Casey ordered over the comm. “Mary, I want you and Camden to go with them. We have other wounded also being evacuated.”
-
Casey watched as Alexander effortlessly picked up Lauren’s prone suit and began jogging back toward the drop ship with the other two Marines acting as guards in case any conscripts attempted to interfere. Casey felt numb as she looked at Lauren’s icon, which was still amber but in danger of turning red at any second.
Taking a deep breath, she got back into the fight. There were still a lot of conscripts that needed to be eliminated as well as the battling Kleese. She was determined not to lose any more of her friends.
-
Ryan was inside the Kleese compound with a number of Marines. The battle was winding down with nearly all the conscripts wiped out and the majority of the Kleese. The Kleese were being killed one by one and none were offering to surrender. It was just as well; Ryan was of the firm opinion the Kleese were a scourge that needed to be wiped out. No mercy was asked for and none was being given.
“Buildings have been searched and there were no Kleese inside,” reported Sergeant Lewis. “They must have all come out to join in the battle.”
“Let’s get all of these civilians moving out,” Ryan ordered. There were still hundreds of civilians inside the compound. Unfortunately, some had been killed by wayward RG rounds from the hover tanks when the walls were blasted down. “As soon as they’re gone I’m going to call down a railgun strike from the Deliverance. We’re going to level this compound.” Ryan knew it was the Kleese who had killed most of the Marines lost in the brutal battle. It had surp
rised everyone when they had joined in the combat. Ryan knew they were fortunate these were regular Kleese and not Zaltule. If they had been Zaltule, the casualties would have been much higher.
With a deep sigh, Ryan looked at his HUD. A lot of Marines had died in the fighting, including some close friends. He had also lost Sergeants Reinhardt and Dewey. Both had been killed in hand-to-hand combat against the Kleese. He was also greatly concerned about Lauren. He didn’t know how Casey would react if she lost her best friend.
“It’s done,” Captain Morris said as she walked up to stand next to Ryan.
“Yes, it’s done,” answered Ryan. “But we paid a heavy price; heavier than expected.”
“It’s war,” Olivia said. “We all lost friends today, but we also killed a hell of a lot of Kleese.”
Ryan nodded. “Let’s get back to the drop ships and back up to the assault cruisers. We’re done here.”
-
Two hours later, the complex erupted in massive explosions as railgun rounds from the Deliverance slammed into the buildings. They collapsed as the deadly rounds rained down, releasing their built up kinetic energy. Fire and smoke rose up into the air, blotting out the sun. When the explosions stopped, there was nothing to show the Kleese had ever been on Anglesh. All signs of their presence upon the planet and in orbit had been ruthlessly eliminated.
-
Commander Bree Symington gazed at the viewscreens, still in shock at the violence of the battle on the ground. Over one hundred and twenty Marines had died and another sixty were in serious condition. Most were expected to make it while others might not. If they still had the Defender and its advanced medical bay, they could probably save all of them. With a deep sigh, she now knew why she had never wanted to become an admiral.
“I have an inbound Fold Space contact,” reported Ensign Brenda Davis.
Bree turned toward the ensign. “How close is it?”
“Forty minutes until it drops out of Fold Space,” Davis replied.
Bree wondered what it could be. Most likely, it was a cargo ship from one of the worlds the Kleese controlled. It could also be a Kleese vessel. One thing she did know, she wasn’t going to wait around to find out.
“All ships, this is Commander Symington,” she said over the ship-to-ship command channel. “We have an inbound contact dropping out of Fold Space in forty minutes. We’re not going to wait around to find out what it is. All ships, standby to activate your Fold Space Drives. We’re leaving in ten minutes. It’s time to go home.”
-
Ten minutes later the surviving ships of the Human fleet activated their Fold Space Drives and left the Anglesh System. Thirty minutes later a Zaltule battlecruiser dropped out of Fold Space in close proximity to the planet. The ship was twelve hours ahead of schedule because its commander had decided to come earlier as he wanted to make a full inspection of the two orbiting space stations and the Kleese compound.
Minor Overlord Jadel gazed at the viewscreens showing nothing but debris orbiting Anglesh. Sensor scans had already determined these were the remains of the two stations as well as both exploration cruisers and a number of assault ships. The sensors also reported the ruins of three other vessels and after a few more minutes, the sensor operator identified them as destroyed Human warships.
Minor Overlord Jadel knew this had to have been done by the rampaging Human fleet that had been reported to be in Kleese space. It was obvious from the location of this attack the fleet must be heading back to the Human led Alliance. He quickly activated his ship’s FTL transmitter and sent the warning to all the worlds on the fleet’s path back to Alliance space. If enough Kleese ships could be gathered in time, they might yet be able to locate it and destroy it.
Chapter Sixteen
Colonel Wade Nelson was in Luna City visiting with Mayor Stan Silas. Stan had been the mayor for nearly twelve years and was considering retirement when the next election came around.
“It’s been too long,” Stan said with a deep sigh as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “It’s not like the old days before the Kleese struck Earth. Those days were wild, and we never knew from one day to the next what we might find next here on the Moon. We had mining operations starting up in countless locations and prospectors fanning out across the surface seeking unclaimed mineral deposits. In many ways, we were like Vesta when Smithfield was the center of the mining operations going on in the belt. There was scarcely a day that Mason, Alex, and I didn’t talk about some new and exciting discovery.”
Wade nodded his understanding. Alex Scott had been killed when the Kleese devastated Mars Central. Four Kleese antimatter missiles had detonated above the city, destroying it and a number of the deep underground bunkers that were supposed to protect the populace. “This phase of the war will soon be coming to an end. The Kleese, or I should say the Zaltule clan of the Kleese, have a large fleet at the trading station in Sector Thirteen. We expect them to launch their attack on the Alliance or the Solar System at any time. If we can destroy their fleet, the war will turn in our favor.”
“That’s a big if,” Stan said, shaking his head. He leaned forward and picked up his cup of steaming coffee from his desk. Taking a sip, he smiled. “I always liked the coffee from Columbia,” He said wistfully, his eyes partially closed recalling the savory taste. “We had so many more blends from different countries back then. There was a time I could take one sip and tell you where the coffee beans originated.” Putting the cup back down he let out a deep sigh. “Now we grow all of our coffee deep underground where the plants never see actual sunlight. Somehow it just doesn’t seem right.”
“We lost a lot when the Kleese launched their missile at Earth,” Wade acknowledged. “I guess we’re lucky we managed to salvage as much as we did.”
Stan opened his desk drawer and slid a photo over toward Wade. It was a picture of an elephant. “Elephants are extinct now because of the Kleese as well as thousands of other animal species. I spoke to Lawrence Henderson the other day. They’ve been surveying the Earth’s oceans to see if any fish survived. Whales are gone as well as most everything else. Lawrence thinks a few species may have survived in the deeper waters, particularly around some of the volcanic vents, but at the moment, he has no way to conduct that type of deep water survey.”
“I spoke to Mason Randle a few months back about this,” Wade replied. He and Beth had gone to see Mason as they had some questions about cloning which had come up in a discussion with Harnett. “He said if we can find viable DNA samples from Earth animals, they may be able to use the cloning technology to bring them back.”
Stan’s eyes widened at the thought of what that might mean. “We’re going to start terraforming Mars shortly. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see the oceans on Mars teeming with life? Whales, tuna, sea lions, and all the rest. It would be a miracle.”
Wade nodded in agreement. “Our habitats are wonderful. The Kiveans have helped us to build cities and places to live very reminiscent of what Earth could have been. But we’re still living underground. I miss the open air, going to the beach, and camping in the mountains. We’ve built a safe environment to raise our children, but I feel they’re missing out on so much.”
“My wife says much the same,” replied Stan, sliding his chair back and standing up. He walked over to a large window that allowed him to look out over Luna City. Then he turned back around toward Wade. “I understand General Mitchell has you going around inspecting the deep bunkers we’ll use in case of an attack.”
“Yes, there’s a lot of concern that with the size of the Zaltule fleet, they may be able to damage some of our habitats with antimatter missiles.”
“Like Mars Central,” muttered Stan, wincing at the memory. “I’ll arrange for Major Baer to take you on a tour. All of our deep bunkers are very well maintained and have supplies for nearly a month.”
“Thank you, Mayor,” Wade answered. He knew that Mayor Silas had a busy schedule for the day and rearra
nged his agenda just so they could meet.
“Tell Beth I said hello and that my wife and I would like to see Erick next time the two of you come to Luna City.”
“I will,” promised Wade. So far, other than the Kivean asteroid, Beth and Erick had stayed in Vesta. Beth preferred the safety the asteroid provided.
-
Two hours later, Wade was standing at the end of a long and wide corridor. In front of him was a set of large metal doors. The corridor was brightly lit and it seemed as if the floors had been recently polished.
“We’re two thousand feet underground,” Major Baer explained as he slid his key card through the security identification scanner on the wall next to the doors. Stepping back, he watched as the two doors slowly swung open. Beyond them, another set opened in the opposite direction.
“Why aren’t there any guards posted in front of these doors?” asked Wade. He hadn’t seen any guards since they had entered the long winding corridor. He knew the corridor made several sharp turns in order to add protection to the bunker.
Baer pointed toward the ceiling where a small black globe was embedded in the concrete and steel. “We have security cameras in all the corridors leading to the bunkers,” he explained. “There’s also a company of Marines in Type Three battlesuits stationed close enough to respond to any interlopers. This particular company is responsible for the safety of four of these facilities.” The major paused and looked at Wade. “You may know the man in charge of this company of Marines. It’s Captain Samuel Griffith.”
Wade nodded, recognizing the name. Captain Griffith had been Colonel Stevens’ best friend and had served with him at Jornada during the cataclysm. Captain Griffith and his family now lived in Luna City. He let out a deep breath. Everyone had lost family and friends when Earth had died. Unfortunately, even now, there was still suffering when brave men and women perished in battle.
Stepping inside the bunker, Wade paused upon seeing the scope of what was before him. A large central corridor led off as far as the eye could see. On each side of the corridor, open hatches led to other parts of the massive bunker complex. As they walked, Wade occasionally paused to look past the hatches at what lay on the other side. Huge dormitories capable of holding hundreds of people were visible. There were cafeterias, supply rooms, and even a modern medical facility.
Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) Page 24