by Krystyn Dean
Dr. Barton finally allowed me to leave the infirmary. Admiral Miller had kept me in the dark regarding what was going on. Now I wanted some answers. Admiral Miller explained that when I had sent the damaged ships back to Titan after our battle with the Eldirelian invasion fleet with our plan to go on to Grenushania. He had decided to back me up with the balance of the Ultron fleet that had been completed after we left and most of the Earth defense ships as well. We were very fortunate he had. We would not have survived for much longer. We lost a number of ships. Primarily the Egolari hull ships, but some of the new Ultron ships as well.
The ships we had dealt with were far beyond anything the Eldirelians had available. There was no doubt that a new player had entered the field.
Sometime during the three days I was out, additional support ships arrived. In addition to the twenty-four thousand marines that had accompanied our fleet, we had thirty-six thousand Marines who had arrived in the troopships Vendetta and Nagoya. The best news of all was that two regiments, nearly eight thousand marines, were Rheaganese. Another Regiment was made up primarily of Credayall plus several different species from the Federation. All of them had been trained at the new Sol-Fed Marine training base on Apsis Prime. These three regiments made up the new Third Marine Division under the command of newly minted, Major General, Diviak Y'shol.
The First Marine Division was under the command of Major General James “Jamie” Finnerty and the Second Marine Division was led by Major General Shaun Daly. Both Shaun and Jamie had been promoted shortly after we left Titan to intercept the Eldirelian invasion fleet.
Days later
Admiral Miller had decided to return to Titan. He was going to leave the bulk of the Ultron ships he had brought with him. He also intended to drop communication buoys on the way back so we would be in communications.
Just before he left he said, “John, there are some strange things going on in the U S government. Don’t be surprised if you get rerouted back to Apsis Prime when you finish up here. As you know, we have been moving assets from Titan Station to Apsis Prime. By the time, you finish here Apsis Prime may very well be as busy as Titan Station was when you left.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE PLANET GRENUSHANIA
Grenushania is a beautiful planet. It is comprised of one major land mass with another half a dozen smaller island provinces. The Capitol of Majorian, and the entire planet, is called Kaladria. All of the provinces are controlled by Kaladria. There are many smaller cities and Towns scattered throughout the continent of Majorian.
The outlying cities and towns are actually very like medieval fiefdoms. They have a sovereign who answers directly to the Leadership Council in the City of Kaladria.
All manufacturing and processing is done off planet. That coupled with the fact that the Eldirelians had been stealing everything of value from other species for decades meant that Kaladria should be a utopian planet. That is far from the truth. nearly everything of value was consumed by the ruling clique for the military buildup.
The Leadership Council on Grenushania had decided to allow the occupation of the planet rather than risk an orbital bombardment. Most of the military faction had escaped into the northern areas of the planet. This created a potential nightmare for the Marines. Guerilla warfare can be the worst kind of fighting.
The hostile Eldirelian military units were under the command of General Prog Tintissi. General Tintissi had led his troops northwest of the City of Kaladria into the Tarvos Skruna mountain range. The Tarvos Skruna are a rugged range that run roughly from the north polar area to the west coast of Majorian. The area is almost entirely wilderness with snow at the higher elevations and heavy forestation from the tree level down to the plains below. Tops of the mountain ranges towered over four thousand meters in some areas. It was rugged and hostile with sudden snow storms that could restrict vision to just a few feet. Not a particularly friendly environment, even for those equipped for it.
Admiral Miller had returned to Titan. He had taken the ships that needed a shipyard to complete repairs with him.
We had managed to complete repairs on the Excalibur, but the list of damaged and lost ships was extensive. Admiral Miller had left most of his Silver fleet with us, however the battle remaining would not be about ships or fleets. It would be a hard battle, fought by men on the ground.
Even though The Leadership Council on Grenushania had agreed to allow occupation of the planet, they were far from cooperative. It was the feeling of the Marine command that we would have to deal with guerilla type terror attacks that would impede our ability to secure the planet. The fact that there was an extensive resistance movement led by a former prince, Jaden Krazeer was not a surprise. Before we left Titan Station, intelligence had gleaned a great deal of information about Grenushania from the crews, officers and “diplomats” that had come on the three freighters.
General Rodgers and I asked Commander Logan Cassini, Chief of intelligence to meet with us in my ready room. I said, “Commander Cassini, please fill us in on what you know of the state of affairs on the surface of Grenushania.” Commander Cassini said, “There is little support by the citizens for the Leadership Council on Grenushania. It is basically the same military governing system that got Grenushania in to the war in the first place. Although the council gives lip service to working with us, they are covertly building a guerilla system to support the military cabal that has moved north to the mountains.”
“Former prince Jaden Krazeer has formed a coalition of prominent citizens who support a democratic form of government. The Leadership Council has declared Krazeer a rebel and has put a price on his head.”
“Krazeer is descended from royalty. His family formed the resistance, and he has led it for many years and is very popular. We believe it would be in our best interests to support Krazeer covertly until such time as they can make a move. There is little doubt that the Leadership council is going to be a problem for us and the population of Grenushania.”
“In our opinion Prince Krazeer seems to be the best choice to lead the Eldirelian people. He will be someone that will always have the best interests of the Eldirelian people in mind. He is also someone that we believe we can trust and work with.”
“So, what you are saying Commander Cassini is that we should support the rebel organization that is trying to overthrow the existing governing body?” “Yes sir” said Cassini, “the general feeling of the population seems to be relief that the war is over, but they want all vestiges of the old regime gone. This has not been a popular or easy period for the citizens of Grenushania. The oppressive military government has led the average Grenushania citizen nearly to the point of open rebellion. The citizens are making their feeling known. They have even circulated a manifesto”
1. They are sick of war.
2. They are tired of hardship to support a bloated military establishment.
3. They are totally fed up with the oligarchy established by the military and are demanding a
more democratic form of representation.
“Our assets tell us that the main sanctuary for the hold out military units is located somewhere in the Tarvos Skruna mountain range. The most likely location is Arabis Valley. We need to make some overflights to see exactly what is going on up there. Our information indicates that the Military units are under the command of Supreme General Prog Tintissi. We have obtained records that tell us he has a total of about one hundred and fifty thousand troops under his command. They have some heavy artillery, some lighter mobile artillery. They also have some anti-aircraft guns and about twenty-five of what appear to be two man tanks that carry laser cannons and secondary medium lasers. They also have a few fighter planes.”
“For the most part Tintissis’ troops are infantry. They have a reputation for being very good at their jobs, but they are only lightly augmented. They are no match, one on one, for our Marines and their power suits.” “The military fortification is the primary stronghold in the
Tarvos Skruna mountain range. That is where most of the heavy artillery is kept. The second important point is the city of Eldisia, where the military has taken over. We estimate about eighteen thousand troops in the Eldisia area. The third strong point is Brussuuk on the east coast of Majorian. There is a demarcation line that bisects Majoria. It is anchored at a point just south of Eldisia on the west coast, it runs between the cities of Tori and Toutatis, then on northeast to the city of Brussuuk on the east coast. This line roughly represents the dividing line that existed between the old countries of Thesulia on the north and Araimeer on the south. The line is about eighteen hundred miles, or 2900 kilometers long. Thesulia was a national socialistic form of government called the Sokkir. The Sokkir invaded Araimeer, a Monarchial form of government, some one hundred and fifty years ago. They have since controlled the population with an iron fist.”
“The Grenushania military units have retreated behind the original dividing line. They have declared the area as sovereign and renamed it Thesulia. The military enjoy the support of most of the population in Thesulia. They retain the Sokkir form of government.”
“The line of demarcation between Thesulia and Araimeer is fortified and defended. This must have been a fallback plan that was already in place. The military compliment in the Zural City area is about twenty thousand troops with moderate civilian support. The military has always been strong in the northern third of the continent.”
“There has always been a healthy resistance movement in Araimeer, but the brutal aggression of the military tribunal had hurt the program. The resistance movement has grown stronger in the last few decades because most of the military resources had been redirected to the Eldirelians Space program. The sudden growth of the Eldirelians space program makes us believe that there was an uplift by a more advanced species. We have no concrete information regarding who that species might be.”
“For the time being that is all we have sir.”
I said, “Thank you Commander Cassini. That gives us a place to start. I will have a series of overflights done with the priority going to the Arabis Valley, Zural City, Eldisia and Brussuuk.” “Can you reach out to prince Jaden Krazeer and see if he is willing to talk to us?” Cassini replied, “I will make it a priority sir.” I said, “Get back to me as soon as you can.” “Aye Sir” replied Commander Cassini.
After General Rodgers had gone. I paged Commander Landon Irwin. As soon as Landon answered I said, “Landon This is what I need.” I went on to explain about the overflights and that we needed them right away. He replied that he would have birds in the air within fifteen minutes and the information would be on my desk within two hours.
Two hours later I was looking at video and still images of all four of the supposed strong points. There was little doubt, the Arabis Valley was the headquarters for the Grenushania forces. The stronghold showed plenty of troop and equipment movement and it was complete with a series of force fields protecting virtually the entire valley. There were what, must have been headquarters, barracks and storage/maintenance buildings, but all were protected by the force fields. The gun emplacements were concentrated on the south and west sides of the valley. There were also, what looked like, redoubts for troops. Supreme General Prog Tintissi was well entrenched. The force fields were going to be a problem. My hope had been that we would be able to drop a few KEW’s (kinetic energy weapons) into the valley, but the force fields negated that. We would have to do it the hard way, boots on the ground. I was convinced that the only way to finish this was to root out the remaining Eldirelian troops and help the citizens of the planet form a representative form of government with ties to the Federation. Anything else will just leave us a mess that will need to be addressed at a later time and probably at a much higher cost in people and equipment. We were here, we needed to finish it.
A day later aboard the Excalibur
“Admiral, Commander Cassini to see you sir.” “Thank You Jenson, please send him in.” As Commander Cassini came in he said, “Admiral I have contacted Prince Jaden Krazeer.”
“The Resistance has raided several armories over the last few months. They are now well armed. Their intention is to depose the Leadership Council. They have asked if we intend to interfere with their actions. I asked him to wait until I had cleared it with you. He advised me that the Resistance was going to go ahead with their planned takeover at zero one hundred hours Grenushania time whether we agreed or not. Would you like to send him a reply?” I said, “Yes I would, tell him Good luck, also tell him we are standing by with any assistance we can provide.” “Aye sir, I will take care of it at once.”
I feel that the Prince and his resistance may be the best answer for a stable government on Grenushania. I am not certain the Federation Committee will agree with me, but the Federation Committee is not here and I am. We will support the resistance and help them establish a new world order on Grenushania.
On Grenushania
The headquarters of Prince Jaden Krazeer
I have been the leader of the resistance movement on Grenushania for the last 25 years. My name is Jaden Krazeer. My father was Prince Andros Krazeer. He had lead the royal resistance movement after the death of his father. The Krazeer lineage has been the sovereigns, in exile, for over one hundred and fifty years. I am the last of our line and even though I am a prince by the rules of royalty I choose not to use the title. I feel that our world would best be served by an elected governing body.
There is a dividing line that existed between the old countries of Thesulia on the north and Araimeer on the south. Thesulia was a national socialistic form of government called the Sokkir. Araimeer was a Monarchy that was Generally sensitive to the needs of the citizenship. The Sokkir invaded Araimeer some one hundred and fifty years ago. After the invasion, the Sokkir, realizing that to simply murder the Royal family would cause massive unrest in Araimeer, decided to place the entire Royal family in exile on Wixillian Island.
Wixillian Island is a remote Island some four hundred *keratek off the coast of southern Majorian. The island had no inhabitants, however it had sufficient water and was a perfect place for unwanted persons who cannot be killed without repercussions. My Great grandfather, Prince Pavanon Krazeer defied his father the King and, with the help of royalist supporters was smuggled back in to Majorian. That was the beginning of the “Royal resistance”.
Other than some terrorist attacks on government facilities the resistance had little effect on governmental policies. They were no more than a very small thorn in the side of the government.
About forty-five years ago the Eldirelian government began to expand in to space, and shortly thereafter they were contacted by an unknown alien species who promised a major uplift in the Eldirelian space effort.
New ships and weapons were provided and the military movement into outer space began. With the money and personnel demands for the space projects, security and over watch on the surface of Grenushania eased up and the resistance became much more active.
About twenty-five years ago, I became the leader of the resistance. As the years have passed we have become stronger and better armed than ever before. Even though the resistance was well armed and well trained, we were unable to attempt any kind of an offensive because of the constant threat from space. A couple of Eldirelian cruisers using KEWS would have made short work of any forces opposed to the current government. With the arrival of the attacking alien fleet that all changed. We had no way of knowing what the intentions of the aliens were, but this was the best opportunity for the resistance to make a move.
Our first priority was to acquire modern weapons. In a coordinated attack we were able to take control of three of the major military citadels on Majorian. With those weapons we were able to equip our freedom fighters with modern equipment. We also were able to liberate several high powered laser cannons and plasma mortars. The plasma mortar is an especially nasty weapon. It fires plasma enclosed in an electrical charged encapsulati
on that releases the plasma in near proximity to its target, showering enemy fighters and equipment with plasma that virtually melted those in the target area. The most important gear we liberated was a shipment of several thousand augmented battle suits. These are state of the art battle suits that will automatically adapt to the operator.
At this time our world is led by a “Leadership Council”, a thinly veiled cover for the military dictatorship Grenushania has endured for over a century. The leadership council will be our first priority. Without the Leadership Council and their troops, we will have control of everything south of the border between Thesulia and Araimeer. This time we will continue the offensive and take it to the north. Thesulia and Araimeer will be united. This time under our rule.
“Your highness, we have made contact with the aliens, they would like to speak to you. Do you wish to speak to the alien officer? He calls himself Commander Cassini. He is the commander of the alien intelligence service with a group called the Federation. He also says they are Human species.” I replied, “Yes Arain, I will be happy to speak to the Human Commander Cassini.”
“Commander Cassini” I said after Arain had patched the human through to my comm. unit. “What can I do for you, we are a bit busy at the moment, so I am pressed for time.” Cassini replied “Your Highness, we are simply interested in what your plans are. We realize the leadership council may not be acting in the best interests of the people of Grenushania, however we have no desire to take over your world either. We are reluctant to make a military move against the current government.”
“Commander Cassini, the Leadership Council is basically the same military governing system that got Grenushania into this war in the first place. The oppressive military government has led the average Grenushania citizen to the point of open rebellion. Although the council gives lip service to working with the citizens, they are covertly building a guerilla system to support the military cabal that has moved north to the mountains.” “It is our intent to depose the leadership council and establish a government that represents the people of Grenushania and is answerable to the people of Grenushania. Once we have stabilized the local situation, we plan to clean the nest of vipers in the north out as well. Grenushania will be a free world with only enough military to protect the planet and the Psi Unica System.”