The purpose of the black hair-like Nanites had now become all too evident. They multiplied grotesquely and formed a kind of impregnable, lightweight chain mail over the silver body armour.
Nothing seemed to be able to stop them. Bullets and pulse weapons simply bounced off them. For mass killing they had changed their modus operandi from tearing heads off to using two machete-like blades in hand-to hand-combat, slicing through the resistance fighters at will, and causing atrocious injuries before inevitable death.
This was having a devastating effect on the morale of the resistance fighters. There were only ten of these creatures, but they were slaughtering everything they came close to.
The Dulles base was definitely being overrun, but the human cost was spiralling out of control.
Mark was agonising over what to do to stop the Sybotes, when one of them suddenly erupted in a ball of white boiling flame, Bill put the SMAW shoulder-launched rocket launcher back into the relaxed position. The thermobaric rocket from the SMAW had incinerated the Sybote from the inside out, sucking in oxygen from the air around it to fuel the intense heat within it, leaving little besides bits of the armoured suit smouldering on the ground.
It was not the ideal weapon because of the collateral damage it could cause, but it certainly seemed to do its job.
Mark waved a thumbs-up to Bill, and the battle raged on, now slightly more in favour of the resistance.
**
When he heard of the attack on the Dulles base, Tannacha flew into a rage. Leaving Gargius with the Serpitus to finish the job at Beijing, this time he broke his own rule of not separating his battle cruisers. Loading a full complement of assault ships and Annunaki warriors, he left Beijing and rocketed back towards Dulles. Jumouk’s diversion had paid off. Now the Serpitus was on its own at Beijing, and Jumouk was going to take full advantage.
The two ESG battle cruisers had been waiting on full battle stations alert and were ready to go. Lee and Konoco were on their respective bridges on the Victory and Iron Duke, Along with Jumouk they blasted out of the weak atmosphere of Mars and headed straight for Beijing. As they entered Earth’s atmosphere above China the targeting systems were already locked onto the Serpitus.
Gargius had spotted the approaching ESG battle cruisers and had begun to disengage from the attack on Beijing to concentrate on confronting the two cruisers. As the first volleys of weapons fire landed, the Serpitus lurched violently sideways with explosions ripping through her port hull. The bridge lifted skyward as if the massive craft was stalling, giving Gargius a perfect view of his executioners bearing down on him. The final weapons fire from the two ESG cruisers ripped through the bridge area of the stricken Serpitus, sealing its fate, as the huge craft split in two, showering the combatants below with white-hot debris.
In its last death-throes the Serpitus had managed to get a well-aimed, or lucky, barrage of pulse weapons fire directly on to the Victory, badly damaging it and leaving the pilots on the bridge struggling to keep the battle cruiser under control.
The destruction of the Serpitus had been a huge success but had left the Victory badly damaged.
Konoco had taken up position over Beijing, but Lee was clearly struggling to keep the Victory stable in flight. If he didn’t do something soon he would be in danger of losing the battle cruiser altogether. Jumouk came to a decision. He ordered Lee to take the stricken cruiser to Sub Sea One.
Entering the Yellow Sea, Lee submerged down to five hundred feet, desperately checking for any hull breaches that hadn’t been automatically sealed. Fortunately there were none and Lee set off on his hazardous journey to Sub Sea One and the Android corps of maintenance for repairs.
**
As Tannacha arrived back in the Dulles base airspace he was presented with an unwelcome spectacle. The Annunaki force that had been left behind had all but been routed by the overwhelming numbers of the resistance fighters and TAG assault craft.
The arrival of the Nephilimis and its reinforcements quickly swung the balance of power back into the hands of the Annunaki and it wasn’t long before the resistance fighters had to retreat back into the cover of the surrounding towns and the sewer tunnels.
Once Balac was sure he had done everything he could to cover the retreating resistance forces, he and his TAG assault vessels disappeared into the North Atlantic, shaking off any pursuing Annunaki assault craft as they returned to Sub Sea One via predetermined escape routes.
Meanwhile Tannacha brought the Nephilimis to rest over the Dulles base once more, and ordered his ground forces to get the base into some kind of order before he and Nalater came down to survey the damage.
**
Nalater was the first to receive the devastating news about the Serpitus and Beijing, and knew it was his responsibility to break the news to Tannacha.
For a while now Nalater had been of the opinion that this mission was no longer sustainable, and that they should take as much gold, minerals and crystals as they could, and return home. He had obviously not expressed this opinion to Tannacha for fear of his leader’s reaction, but as things went from bad to worse the temptation to cut and run was growing stronger.
The Annunaki forces were now down to one battle cruiser, around forty-five assault craft, two large transports, and a number of shuttles of varying sizes. The ground troops consisted of around seventy thousand warriors, scattered around the world, and ten thousand now at the Dulles base. This wasn’t a conquering army any more: now it wasn’t even an expeditionary force. No, he thought. Now is the time to confront Tannacha.
His thoughts were interrupted by Tannacha storming up onto the bridge.
‘I know!’ he snarled, sneering at Nalater.
It was almost as if Tannacha knew what he had been thinking.
‘I want all our warriors and troops worldwide back at Dulles by the end of the day. Now do it.’
Nalater said nothing of what he had been thinking. He set off at once to carry out Tannacha’s order.
**
43
Marie was watching the visual depiction consoles, and just bringing Nibiru into sight, when sure enough a small shuttle appeared on approach to the planet. Marie had to take a second look.
Within the asteroid belt surrounding Nibiru was a second Annunaki fleet, and the shuttle wasn’t heading for the planet. It was now on course for the lead battle cruiser.
Pausanias joined Marie at the console and began expertly adjusting the visual controls. Marie counted the cruisers. After she reached eight she gave up and sat down despondently.
Pausanias took over the count. The final result was heartbreaking after everything they had been through. Now we should have had the advantage, she thought. Two cruisers to one. Well, that’s the way it should have worked out. Eleven battle cruisers, five large troop transports and numerous support craft. It was a crushing blow for everyone, and probably a death sentence or worse.
Marie contacted Jumouk and Konoco.
‘I’ve got some terrible news, Jumouk,’ Marie stammered. ‘The visual display consoles on Mars have picked up a large fleet around Nibiru.’
Jumouk sighed audibly.
‘How many, Marie?’
Marie began to cry softly.
‘Eleven battle cruisers, five large transports and some other assorted craft.’
Jumouk stared at Konoco. There was desperation written all over his normally expressionless face.
‘Marie, go and get yourself a strong, sweet cup of tea, I’ll be back to you shortly.
‘Konoco, contact Lee and bring him up to date. Find out what condition his cruiser is in.’
Jumouk contacted Mars again, this time talking to Grant.
‘Grant, I need the transports here at Beijing. You will need to organise an escort for them. They’re too vulnerable to be on their own.’
Grant acknowledged the message and set to work.
Lee was stunned when he heard the news about the Annunaki fl
eet. His battle cruiser was nearly repaired now. The Android maintenance crews had done an amazing job and had worked non-stop.
Konoco had anticipated Jumouk’s thinking and had already started to organise the evacuation of the Beijing base.
On board the now-repaired Victory Lee joined the Iron Duke over Beijing to provide air cover for the rapidly filling transports. Meanwhile, Jumouk had got back to Marie and explained the new plan of action.
Marie and Pausanias were now busy preparing for the arrival of the refugees from Beijing. Marie didn’t know how many people the Mars base could accommodate, but Pausanias didn’t seem to have any problem with the size of the new intake, which was reassuring from Marie’s point of view. She no longer cared who had built the base; she was just happy that it was there and that Pausanias clearly knew what he was doing. Between Earth and Mars there was now so much going on that nobody had the time to worry about the new threat from Nibiru. They could just move the human cargo as quickly and safely as possible.
The whole operation seemed to be going extremely smoothly with absolutely no interference from the Annunaki presence at Dulles.
As each transport filled up, it left for the Mars base escorted by twenty-five assault craft and Lee in the Victory. On its arrival at the Mars base the transport unloaded its human cargo under the watchful eyes of Marie, Pausanias, and the hundreds of Mars inhabitants involved in settling the new intake into their new way of life.
The normal reaction of the new arrivals at the Mars base was one of disbelief at the size and comfort of the underground facility, especially in light of the widespread rumours that the base was a dingy old mine or, worse, mine tunnel.
At times Marie would leave Pausanias to get on with it as she paid a visit to the control room and the visual depiction consoles to check the position of the second Annunaki battle group. So far so good, she thought. At least it hasn’t moved yet.
This was the only console that could detect a fleet so far away, and technically it was far more advanced than anything on board the cruisers. Marie didn’t have a clue how it worked, but the pressure being what it was, she was simply glad that it did.
**
It had been a long hard shift but finally the last transport was filling up.
Jumouk was keen to get back to the Mars base for many reasons, the main one being the need to re-group and consolidate the defence of the base. He also wanted to see the massed forces of the new Annunaki battle group for himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Marie, it was just one of those times you had to see it for yourself.
With the last huge transport filled and the underground base at Beijing abandoned, the battle cruisers and the rest of the craft made their way towards the Mars base.
As the battle cruisers took up their defensive positions above the Mars base, Jumouk and Konoco were already aboard a shuttle, landing in an area around the base protected by the force field. They made their way quickly down to the main control room to join Marie.
‘Has there been any further movement of the Annunaki fleet, Marie?’
Jumouk was obviously very concerned as he watched the visual depictions in front of him.
Marie shook her head.
‘No, there’s been absolutely no movement at all - well, apart that is from the shuttle that docked with the lead battle cruiser.’
‘It’s two days’ flight in hyper-drive, isn’t it?’
Marie nodded
‘I take it the shuttle was there to bring the new battle group up to date. I need to know what the defensive capabilities of this base are, Marie.’
Marie shook her head again.
‘You’re going to have to talk to Pausanias. He’s the only one who can help with that. I still don’t even know how big the base is. Maybe he’ll be more forthcoming with you, anyway.’
Lee joined them and Marie welcomed him with a big warm smile.
‘What have I missed?’
‘Nothing much, Lee, except Jumouk’s going to have to talk to Pausanias to put together a plan for the defence of the base.’
Lee looked around.
‘Just on that subject, where is Pausanias?’
‘I think he’s still settling the new arrivals in.’
This was not in fact true.
Pausanias was actually on a completely different level of the Mars base, a part of it which only the original Mars occupants had been in. Neither Dropas nor humans knew of the existence of this level.
This was the part that controlled all the weapons and defences around the surface and within the base of the red planet. Pausanias was busy now, expertly configuring the defence patterns that would defend the base against any Annunaki aggression. He had personally sat down with the two Mars operators monitoring the controls and reconfigured the systems himself. The response to any attack would be swift and decisive, and would show no mercy.
Satisfied that he had taken all the measures he needed to, he left his operators to oversee the system and returned to the main control room.
‘Is that everyone settled in?’
Marie was the first to ask.
‘It will take them a few days to settle in, Marie, but everyone’s been allocated sleeping and living areas, and my people are assisting with any needs the new arrivals might have.’
Lee thought to himself. My people. That’s an unusual thing for an Android to say. Everything about Pausanias seemed to be puzzling. He was certainly an enigma.
Pausanias was busy reassuring Jumouk about the defence system of the Mars base. This involved a lengthy and detailed explanation of how the automated defences worked. Finally, Jumouk seemed happy that everything that could be done had been done to protect the civilians sheltering on the Mars base.
**
44
Tannacha and Nalater had personally overseen the clearing up of the Dulles base after the encroachment by the Earth’s resistance fighters. The attacked had caused a lot of damage and many casualties. The resistance had shown that they were a force to be reckoned with. In fact, a worldwide network of resistance was now in place and growing stronger by the day. Although Dulles was still the hub, the leadership was based in London.
All the Annunaki forces worldwide had now been recalled to the Dulles base, making it a formidable fortress.
Tannacha was back on his favourite project, the Sybotes. But now he had a definite plan. As usual he just hadn’t told anybody what he had planned to do with them -apart, that is, world conquest and slavery.
Another shuttle had been despatched to Nibiru, and Tannacha was looking well pleased with himself again. He had come up with the perfect solution.
While the Annunaki warriors were bad enough, and the Sybotes were even scarier and worse, he had come up with something even better. What about an Annunaki warrior as a Sybote? A mere thousand of these creatures would clear a swathe through Earth, killing and turning humans into Sybote slaves, with no problem at all.
The DNA and other samples needed for this were now on their way back to Nibiru where they would be processed and developed with the help or, perhaps, through the misfortune of the second-class Annunaki workers.
**
Marie was the first to notice a massive Annunaki craft sitting further back in the debris field around Nibiru, as if it was isolated from the rest of the battle group. It had, she observed, regular visits from a number of shuttles and other craft which docked and took off from there. She was mesmerised as she watched the number of craft coming and going, and wondered what was going on. Jumouk interrupted her reverie.
‘What is it, Marie?’
‘I don’t know, but it’s three times the size of a cruiser, and there’s a lot of activity going on now.’
Shuttles and other types of vessels were docking and taking off every ten minutes, and Marie was becoming increasingly concerned. They had already come across the human Sybotes and knew that the Annunaki were capable of anything.
**
On board the massive ship the Annunaki warriors were having a very difficult time controlling the new breed of Sybotes. They were very different from the human form of Sybote: stronger, far more aggressive and less responsive to the influence of the mind-controlling device.
The creatures had to be put in different cells to stop bloody fighting breaking out between them, and this was taking its toll on the Annunaki warriors guarding them. It was also doing nothing to build confidence that they were going to be an asset when they reached Earth.
Morale itself within the Annunaki ranks was reaching an all-time low. They had all heard the stories about Earth from the shuttle pilots, about its ‘ghost’ forces appearing out of nowhere, the savage fighting that had gone on, the resistance movement, the massive defeat suffered by the expeditionary force and the problems that they had faced, as battle cruiser after battle cruiser had been destroyed.
Battle for the Earth Page 20