Portal Wars: The Trilogy

by Jay Allan

  “It is that obvious? Still, it will not be easy, and there will be great risks involved. But with most of the available nuclear arsenal expended, and the enemy’s anti-air defenses so strong, I can’t think of anything but black ops.”

  Drogov sighed, and for a passing instant there was an expression on his face Samovich had never seen, one of doubt. But it only lasted a few seconds. “It will not be easy, Anton. Indeed, it will be the most difficult operation I have ever attempted.” He paused. “But I will do it…I will do it for you, my old friend, and because I believe it is where our greatest hope for victory lies.” Alexi Drogov stared at his oldest, his only friend, his pale blue eyes betraying a human vulnerability he allowed few to see.

  “I will kill Jake Taylor for you.”

  Chapter 13

  Communiqué from Forward Position 3:

  This is Major Texera, in command of forward position three. My lead elements have encountered several small population centers. I have lost contact with several patrols, and have received reports from others that they have engaged in combat. Hostiles are not UNGov regulars, they are civilians from the nearby mining settlements. Repeat, we are being attacked by civilians…and we have returned fire…

  The shot rang out, echoing across the rolling hills…then another one. Calvin Garth dove to the ground, his instincts taking over instantly. “Down,” he shouted, “everybody!” But his orders, as immediate as they were, came too late. His troops had already thrown themselves to the ground for cover, their training and experience taking over as automatically—and immediately—as his own.

  Garth snapped his head around, his enhanced ears quickly triangulating on the source of the gunfire. “From the northeast,” he snapped. “I put it two meters west of that copse of trees.” He looked at the area intently, blinking once or twice at the strange sensation he still felt when his bionic eyes zeroed in on a small spot and kicked up the magnification. A normal man wouldn’t have seen more than a green blotch of trees, and a low ridge to their left. But Garth saw much more than that…he caught movement, leaves rustling…just as another shot rang out.

  “The trees,” he snapped. “Target the tress…fire!”

  He angled his rifle toward the green area, his finger flipping the switch to semi-auto just before he pulled the trigger. He fired half a dozen times, perhaps twenty shots in all, and his troopers did the same. The trees were riddled with fire, he could see leaves flying around and branches splitting and falling to the ground.

  “Cease fire,” he snapped, his eyes panning the area slowly, carefully. “Lynch, Eddings…move forward, and scout those woods.”

  “Sir!” came the almost simultaneous replies. Even as they responded, he could see the two soldiers moving forward, lunging ahead twenty yards and dropping behind whatever cover or folds in the ground they could find. They stopped and waited for enemy fire before pushing on again. But there was none. Finally, they disappeared inside the wall of trees.

  “Captain Garth…” It was Eddings on the comlink. “Woods are clear, sir. We’ve got two bodies…and it looks like two or three more took off north. Should we pursue?”

  Garth paused. His instinct was to order his troopers to chase the survivors down…but if there were UNGov forces out there that was a good way to send his two men right into a large enemy force.

  “Negative, Corporal. There’s no way to know how close their parent unit is.” There wasn’t supposed to be any enemy activity in this area. All reports indicated the enemy was concentrating in the south. But there was no point in taking any chances.

  “Sir, they don’t look much like UNGov troops…they seem more like…civilians, sir. Some kind of miners or something like that.”

  “And how many UNGov soldiers have you seen, Eddings?” Garth paused, thinking. But Eddings is a veteran…he knows what a soldier looks like…

  “Very well, Corporal,” he added, more or less disregarding what he had just said. “Stay put until we get there.” He flipped the comlink to wide channel. “Alright, guys…we’re heading to that clump of trees to check things out. I want everybody wide awake and alert…but no happy trigger fingers, okay? You don’t fire without my order unless someone is shooting at you…and even then, make damned sure you don’t hit any friendlies.”

  He climbed to his feet and ran out into the field, jogging up the hill toward the woods. There was no sign of enemy activity, but he didn’t forget his training. Carelessness gets soldiers killed…he’d been told that a thousand times going all the way back to when Jake Taylor had been his lieutenant so long ago. He ducked down and paused at each bit of decent cover, turning both ways and keeping tabs on the rest of the unit as he did.

  He pushed forward, into the cover of the trees, realizing immediately that the wood was considerably larger than it had appeared from down below. The treed area widened considerably as it worked its way north, and it stretched all the way down from the top of the high ground as far as he could see. He slapped his comlink. “Torba, head out to the west, and get a look at north as soon as you’re out of the woods.” The forest seemed large inside, but Garth knew it didn’t extend very far to the east or west along the top of the ridge. He’d seen that much as he’d approached.

  “Sir!” came the immediate reply.

  Garth walked forward, toward Eddings and Lynch. “Anything new?” he asked as he walked up behind the two men.

  “No, sir. I mean, yes…I’m definitely convinced these two were civilians…the poor quality weapons, bad aim, the fact that the rest of them turned tail. And…”

  “And what, Corporal?”

  “Well, sir, I think these guys are miners.”

  “And why is that? Inspiration?”

  “No, sir…I’m from the west, sir…in old America I mean. My family…they were miners, for four generations. I’d have worked in the mine myself if…if I hadn’t gotten in trouble and taken service to avoid a jail term.” He paused, leaning down over one of the bodies, grabbing an arm and twisting it. “Look at his hands, sir. See the residue all over them, the gunk under his finger nails? I’d know that anywhere. This guy must have come here straight from a shift.” He let go of the arm, and reached down, turning the other body over. “Same thing with this guy, Cap. I’d bet my last clip there’s some mining town around here somewhere…and that’s were these two came from.”

  Garth sighed. “Okay, Eddings, let’s say you’re right. What do we do now? Leave these guys behind us and move forward? Or chase them down and try to get to the bottom of it…and maybe end up in a firefight with a bunch of civilians?”

  “I don’t know, Cap, but I’m glad it’s you with those bars on your shoulders and not me.”

  Garth nodded, and he turned and looked behind him as the rest of the unit moved up. A few seconds later, Torba came running over.

  “Sir, the woods get real wide down there. They swing maybe two klicks to the west, right up to what looks like some kind of river. I saw the civvies, Cap, at least half a dozen. They came out of the woods about a klick ahead. They’re heading west, sir.” Torba turned back to the west and pointed. “They look like they’re slowing down, sir. If you want to catch them, it shouldn’t be any problem.”

  Garth nodded. “Thank you, Corporal.” Then he looked down at his feet, kicking a small rock as he did. The idea of chasing after a bunch of civilians—and very possibly having to kill them all if they put up too much of a fight—sickened him. But his people were at the head of the whole army. A few pissed off civvies weren’t going to do much damage to the army as a whole—though he reminded himself they were perfectly capable of killing some of his comrades. But what if this was more than that? Some kind of UNGov militia? Maybe there were more of them, with better weapons. They might try to get behind the army, interdict the supplies flowing through the Portal.

  No, I can’t just move forward without knowing what is going on. We’ve got to capture one of these guys, find out why they’re trying to kill us.

  “Alr
ight, let’s go. We’re going to run these bastards down and find out what the hell is going on.” He took a couple steps, and then he stopped and turned back. “We don’t kill anybody if we don’t have to, you guys got that? If you have to shoot, try to go for the leg…incapacitate them if possible.”

  His troops replied with a chorus of yessirs, but he knew what he was asking was mostly pointless. His men were armed with heavy assault rifles, weapons designed to kill on the battlefield. A shot to the leg was as likely as not to tear the whole thing off, leaving the victim bleeding to death in agony. Better to take a quick shot to the head then to spend an extra few minutes in pain and hopeless fear.

  He shook his head and leapt up, moving swiftly through the trees, in the direction Torba had given them. Maybe they’ll give up when we catch them, he thought. But he didn’t believe it. And he was beginning to suspect the battle for Earth would be even more bloody and difficult than he’d expected. And a lot more morally ambiguous. He’d signed on to topple corrupt politicians, not gun down a bunch of miners.

  * * *

  “They’re coming…they’re coming!” Josef Talinn ran through the village, his six companions following close behind. “They can’t be more than a few minutes back.”

  “We’re ready, Josef.” It was a woman’s voice, from the doorway of one of the rickety buildings near the entrance to the town. Nyrob was a small village, just the kind of place that had largely disappeared from the Earth when UNGov relocated the inhabitants of all but essential rural settlements. But it’s location in the foothills of the Urals near two producing platinum mines had saved it. It was home to about 300 miners, and their families, along with those providing support services for the tiny community. There was a UNGov supervisor as well, though after he had instructed the people to resist the invaders, he’d hastily fled, claiming he had been called to Geneva for a briefing.

  The miners had never liked the supervisor anyway, and they prepared to fight now not because of his order, but because they wanted to strike back at the traitors, the murderers. Nyrob had proudly sent six sons to the war against the Tegeri, and three of them had been on the worlds where the massacres had occurred. They had no idea if they had been killed by Taylor’s forces, or even if any of the three had still been alive. But that didn’t matter. Their people had bravely faced the Tegeri to protect Earth…and a bunch of filthy traitors had murdered their comrades at least, and possibly them too.

  Talinn stumbled into the town, falling to his knees and gasping for air, as did the rest of his people. “They’re fast,” he rasped out. “Faster than any men I’ve ever seen.” He doubled over and retched, but only a bit of foam came up. Then he forced himself back up again. “No time,” he said. “No time.”

  He stumbled forward a few steps, turning and opening the door to one of the buildings. He paused for a second to look at the makeshift display in the small townsquare, a galley of sorts with three bodies hanging there limply. They’d been in a vehicle when they stopped just outside the town. They had only been out of the transport for a minute when the townspeople came rushing out . The soldiers had left their weapons in the truck, and they yelled to the mob, waving their hands and crying for them to be calm. But there was no calm where traitors and murderers were involved, not to the people of Nyrob. They were on the soldiers in an instant, clawing at them, dragging them to the ground and beating them ferociously. A cursory look at the hanging bodies confirmed the men did not die easily.

  But the soldiers coming now were not just three, and they would not be taken by surprise. They’d already killed two of the townspeople, and they had pursued the rest in a murderous rampage. They brought death with them, Talinn knew, but Nyrob would fight them off, kill as many of the traitorous bastards as they could. Or this town with its centuries-long history would at last vanish like its neighbors, and its people would die at the hands of the monsters who had killed 20,000 Earth soldiers.

  “Inside, all of you. Get your weapons and go to your places. They are coming!”

  Talinn slipped through the door of the dilapidated old shack he called home. He took a deep breath, and he looked around at the house, the place where he had been born. The place where now, he would very likely die.

  * * *

  Garth moved slowly, cautiously. His people had tailed the civilians, driving them hard but staying back far enough that they didn’t catch up. He wasn’t looking to gun down seven terrified miners in the Russian countryside…he wanted to get back to wherever they had come from, and talk to their leaders, explain that he and his men were here to free them all.

  “Hold up,” he snapped, pausing behind a large tree just outside the town. He stared down into the small streets of the village. It was quiet, too quiet. Something was wrong.

  I hope this town isn’t full of homicidal crazies…

  Garth sympathized with the townspeople, to a point at least. They’d shot at his people, but they hadn’t hit anyone, and that made them a lot easier to forgive than if they’d killed any of his men. But if these villagers attacked his team en masse, he knew his soldiers would fight back. And he knew he would let them.

  Farmers and miners might get lucky with a shot or two, but his twenty enhanced Supersoldiers would reduce this town to a smoking pile of rubble in a matter of seconds. If these people started a fight, they were all going to die.

  Which means I need to make sure no fight begins.

  “Hello,” he yelled as loudly as he could. He knew the Tegeri-made attachment to his com unit would translate his words into any Earth language…and do the reverse with any response. “I am Captain Calvin Garth of the Army of Liberation. My men and I do not mean you any harm. We are here to free you all from the unjust rule of UNGov.”

  He looked down into the town. Still nothing.

  “Okay, Torba, Eddings, Lynch…you three with me. Everybody else, grab a spot with good visibility into the town and sit tight. And be ready.”

  He took a few steps forward, looking back to make sure his companions were with him. They all had their rifles out and ready. Garth didn’t want a fight with these people, but he had a bad feeling about the whole thing, and he wasn’t about to be caught napping.

  It’s bad enough we’re walking up right in the open…

  He looked around, his enhanced eyes giving him a good view of everything in his line of sight. He could see shadowy forms behind the windows, men and women crouched down. He caught the line of a gun in one of their hands.

  Damn. They’re lying in wait for us.

  He knew what he’d do on the battlefield. His people would already be laying waste to the town, obliterating the buildings with mortars and raking the whole are with automatic fire. But this wasn’t the battlefield.

  At least I hope it’s not.

  “I can see you hiding in the buildings. You are planning to attack my soldiers, but there is no reason. We mean you no harm. If you come out…”

  “Cap!” It was Eddings, and his face had gone as pale as a ghost. His expression was one of horror changing quickly to uncontrollable rage. His arm was extended, pointing toward the town.

  Garth took a few steps forward and looked where he was pointing.

  My God…

  He froze, his eyes fixed on three bodies, dressed in the remains of uniforms. Uniforms from the AOL. Even from here he could see the men had been beaten, hideously mutilated.

  One of the infiltration teams…it has to be…

  He felt his discipline slam into place, his military instincts trying to exert control, to cut off the rage he could feel surging from the darkest places in his mind. But when the anger came, it was an irresistible force, and it tore right through his feeble control. These filthy townspeople had ambushed one of the army’s teams, beat them to death, savaged their broken bodies. He knew he should hold back, call this in to HQ, and wait for orders. But those thoughts were too little too late. All he could think of was his need to avenge his comrades.

  He was never sure a
fterward if he’d fired first or if Eddings had. But the next thing he knew he was blasting away at the town and screaming for the rest of the unit to open up. And by the time they were finished there was nothing left to show Nyrob had ever existed…nothing save ashes and a pile of rotting corpses.

  Chapter 14

  From the Journal of Jake Taylor:

  For more than five years, ever since that fateful day I learned the terrible truth, I have imagined our return to Earth. I envisioned the terrible battle I knew we would face. I saw my soldiers dying, fires raging in Earth’s great cities. I saw the people rising up to join us, taking the chance to claim their freedom, to destroy their oppressors…and I saw them dying by the thousands, the brutal cost of freedom.

  There were times I wasn’t sure we would get here. Standing on the burning sands of Erastus for the last time, staring into the Portal ready to take the first step on the long road home, my doubts threatened to consume me, the need to radiate confidence to my soldiers an almost unbearable burden. Yet I walked into that Portal, and through battles and fire, my soldiers and I continued. We fought many struggles, lost thousands of our comrades. But our message spread, and on a dozen worlds, the UN soldiers, conscripts as we were, flocked to our banners. Our ranks swelled until we had many times the number we started with. And the Tegeri supplied us. The invasion of Earth wouldn’t be like the other battles we’d fought on our march, perpetually low on supplies and ordnance. No, thanks to our allies—our former enemies—our depots were overflowing. The battle for Earth would be brutal, but we were a well-supplied, veteran army. I let myself believe we had a chance, that the cataclysm ahead of us might be less terrible than my mind had made it.