Transmission Lost

by Stefan Mazzara

  ******

  Aria was decidedly not having a good time. She was trying to keep her cool while some of the Nuretan Imperial Marines were going into a panic, and a few of her Royal Guards weren't far behind them. The transports they'd ridden almost the whole way to the palace were in flames now, some of them hit by multiple shots from the rebel walkers, and their assembled forces were scattered among the buildings, grabbing cover wherever they could. The Ascendancy naval troopers were attempting to get clear shots at the enemy walkers with their anti-armor weapons, but they were having difficulty finding the opportunity to do so. Whenever any of them poked their heads out from behind cover, they were subjected to a barrage of fire from the swarm of Pteryd airships. The troopers had managed to take down two of the walkers, but that still left four which were undamaged and fully capable of making things a nightmare for them. They had the option of retreating, but that would have meant exposing their backs to the walkers, and Aria liked that prospect about as much as she liked the idea of turning away when their objective was in sight. She was determined to get inside the royal palace. She had come too far to turn back now.

  -Captain Me'lia, we aren't going to last very long at this rate,- General Soumaren said over the radio. She was with a squad of her marines and a few of the naval troopers near Aria's position, inside one of the tall buildings. They'd made a break for it once the walkers had spotted their group, and had taken a few losses getting inside, but now they had a relatively safe location from which to observe the enemy. That was more than Aria could say for herself. She was hunkered down with Lieutenant Ayalis and two other Royal Guards, behind a chest-high wall that offered decent protection against small arms and the guns on the airships. Aria was all too aware of the fact, however, that the walkers would have no problem blasting her to pieces if they figured out she was hidden there.

  -We need reinforcements,- Aria radioed back. -And we need armor support. Can we get some of our air assets in the area to help us out?-

  -That's negative,- the general responded regretfully. -They're all occupied supporting other areas of the conflict, and they can't break away. The Pteryd are flooding the skies with airships and our forces are having trouble holding airspace as it is.-

  Aria snarled in frustration. -Well there has to be something we can do! The Empress is counting on us! We can't just roll over and wait to die here.-

  -We should pull back.-

  -If we pull back, we might lose this chance!- Aria protested. -And who knows if we'll ever get it again? I am not leaving my sister and my mate to die here!-

  She poked her head up over the wall to see what she could. Two of the walkers were striding in her direction, though they hadn't seemed to have caught on to where she was just yet. She was a little more worried to see Pteryd soldiers on the ground, mixed in with Ailian rebels. The captain could see at least fifty in her field of vision, and there were certain to be more of them. If she had been the rebel ground commander, she would be preparing to sweep the nearby buildings to root them all out. They had precious little time to come up with a plan of action before they'd be overrun.

  Just then, Aria's radio squawked and a voice came over the air. -Guard One, this is fleet command. You have incoming. Keep your heads down and prepare for some noise.-

  Cursing, Aria kept her ears keen for what might be coming. After a few seconds, she could hear a rhythmic chopping sound over the chatter of gunfire surrounding her. She recognized it all too well: helicopters were coming nearer to them. She flattened herself to the ground behind the sheltering wall. Human helicopters were dangerous in their precision and speed, and she hoped that by remaining motionless she could avoid making herself a target for them. She turned her keen eyes up to the sky, waiting for them to appear.

  She didn't have to wait long. The chopping grew louder, and then a formation of eight small attack helicopters came around a building five blocks behind them, flying low and fast as they followed the road straight towards where Aria and her soldiers were hiding. She thought she had a good chance of hitting them with her weapon if she aimed carefully, and the heavy rounds her weapon fired might actually cause some damage, but she wasn't sure she wanted to take the risk of giving away her location. As she watched the single-rotor craft get closer, she saw fiery puffs on their stubby wings and knew they were launching missiles.

  -Incoming!- Aria called out. -Brace yourselves!- She clutched her rifle tightly, waiting for them to get a little bit closer before chancing a shot back at them. Her eyes tracked the paths of the missiles as they streaked closer to her. At the last second, she gritted her teeth and waited for the explosions she was sure would be going off around her.

  To her surprise, the missiles overshot her completely. She whipped her head around to see where they were going, and was astonished to see the missiles strike the walkers that were bearing down on her. The projectiles impacted the sides of the cockpits, where the armor was thinner, and punched through, several of them detonating inside the two-legged hulks. Then her ears were flattened by the wash of the helicopters' rotors as they flew over her head. Six of them peeled off from the formation and gained altitude, heading up towards the Pteryd airships. While the airships were heavily armored and armed, they were sluggish in comparison to the nimble single-pilot helicopters, who began firing rockets at the alien fliers with uncanny precision. The remaining two human craft flared and began sideslipping. Hanging underneath their noses were two-barreled gun turrets, and those opened up on the rebel foot soldiers on the ground, shell casings raining down as they peppered the enemy with well-aimed fire. The line of soldiers began to fall back, returning fire ineffectually as they scattered in confusion. Aria was just as dumbfounded as they were, and she tried to understand why the humans would have turned on their allies like that.

  -What's going on?- Lieutenant Ayalis asked her. She had her head up now, watching the scene, and even as she asked that there came a screaming roar as a flight of human fighters came shooting over the tops of the buildings. They joined the helicopters in going after the Pteryd airships, and before long it was a fully-involved aerial battle, while the walkers still standing on the ground began moving for shelter from missiles being fired at them periodically.

  -I'm not sure...,- Aria responded. -But I think we should take this chance and get some better cover. On me!- She got to her feet and made a break for the building where General Soumaren was holed up, with her soldiers close on her heels. They had just made it inside when the sound of another helicopter, different from the ones before, reached her ears. Aria turned to look out the open door as it set down in the middle of the nearest intersection. This helicopter was larger than the others, obviously some kind of troop transport, and a side hatch slid open as soon as its wheels hit the pavement. Three humans stepped out. One of them was a male dressed in dark blue fatigues, another in a mottled brown-and-green camouflage pattern, and the third a woman dressed in a drab green.

  Lieutenant Ayalis came up to Aria's side, her sniper rifle tucked in to her shoulder. -Should I fire, Captain?- she inquired.

  -No, don't,- Aria said warily. The blue-clad human was in the lead, and he spotted her standing in the open doorway. They locked eyes for a moment, and then the trio began jogging towards them. She kept her weapon at the ready, but from their stance and the way they seemed unconcerned about her, she didn't think they had hostile intentions in mind. For the moment.

  As they got closer, Aria could tell that they were not used to being on the planet, which reasonably ruled out the possibility that they were part of her mother's rebel group. All three of the humans were sweating heavily by the time they came up to her and Lieutenant Ayalis. Had they been on the planet for as long as the rebels had been in control, they surely would have been acclimated to the desert heat. All that really did for Aria, though, was raise the question of where exactly they had come from, if they weren't with the rebels. The male in the lead and the female seemed unfazed by Aria's intimidating appearance, though
she towered above them and was heavily armed. The other male, the one in the mottled camouflage, gaped at her with his mouth slightly ajar. He seemed much younger than the other two, and perhaps he had not seen an Ailian up close before. The trio were all armed with battle rifles, but they had their weapons slung low in front of them rather than gripped in their hands. They clearly wanted to present as non-threatening an image as possible.

  When the humans were close enough for their voices to be heard, the one in the lead opened his mouth. “I'm looking for General Kalma Soumaren,” he said.

  Aria gripped her weapon more tightly. “You are?” she growled, baring her teeth at the human. He didn't flinch, which she regarded as highly impressive. Not many humans could look at a fully-outfitted Royal Guard officer without showing fear, but this one showed not a hint of trepidation.

  To her surprise, in fact, he looked relieved. “You speak English?” the human asked. “That's good, my Ailian is crap. I need to speak with General Soumaren right away.”

  “That is me.” Aria looked over her shoulder to see General Soumaren coming from within the building. Her uniform was torn in a few places, but she looked unhurt. She was flanked by several of her marines, all of whom were looking at the trio of humans with just as much suspicion as the Ailians were. “I am General Kalma Soumaren of the Imperial Marines, and this is Captain Aria Me'lia of the Lirnan Royal Guards. Who are you, and why do you want me?”

  All three of the humans saluted her, though there was some hesitation as they did so. This was clearly something that none of them had ever thought they would be doing. “I'm Lieutenant Commander Joseph Carswell with SEAL Team 21.” He gestured to the other man and the woman standing with him. “This is Lieutenant Nikolai Kozlov of the 57th Guards Spetsnaz Regiment, and Captain Angela Drechsler of Twelfth Company Kommando Spezialkräfte. Our home fleets have been sent by command on Cerelis to offer our assistance.”

  General Soumaren and Aria looked at one another, before the Nuretan general crossed her arms. “Perhaps you should explain, Commander.”

  “I don't think we got a lot of time for that, but I'll give you the quick version,” Commander Carswell said. “I don't know a lot of it myself. What I do know is that our respective governments have been negotiating behind the scenes for a while now, which you probably knew also.” He looked up as there was a roar overhead, and another squadron of human fighters flew by. “Our diplomats came to a few agreements a week ago...before your Empress was kidnapped. The United Nations wasn't happy about it, but I think losing Earth a few months ago put things in perspective. We're not pleased with these rebels of yours, General, especially since some of our people have taken up with them. And since it turns out the Ascendancy had nothing to do with Earth, I guess some folks are willing to put aside a few differences. At least until we get this shit straightened out.”

  Aria frowned. “Are you?”

  “We're not friends by any stretch of the word,” Commander Carswell cautioned her. “There's too much bad blood between humans and Ailians. Maybe there always will be, maybe not. But we've learned more about the Pteryd in the past few months than we ever knew before, and we like them even less than we like you.” He shrugged. “We're not here as peace envoys or diplomats. We're here as soldiers. Our job for right now is to help you take this planet back. Whether we go our separate ways and get back to our war afterwards is up to the politicians. But compared with the Pteryd or these 'Outer Colony' people, I think pretty much everyone back home agrees we'd rather deal with the Ascendancy. What do you say to that, General?”

  General Soumaren looked back over her shoulder, where her soldiers and the Ailian troops had gathered. Those who could understand the human's words were relaying them to their comrades, and while there was a fair amount of confusion and suspicion to be found on all of their faces, a fair number of them were nodding in agreement. Aria knew exactly what she wanted to say, but it really was up to the general right now. The captain wanted her homeworld back, and she wanted her mother to pay for what she had done. She also remembered what the late Empress Solan had wanted to accomplish for her people, and though perhaps her plans had not gone exactly as she would have wished, humans were now standing with Ailians for the purpose of something other than fighting with each other. In the end, that was all that really mattered.

  “Very well, Commander,” General Soumaren finally. She reached forward, extending a hand to the human officer. “The Nuretan Empire has never had any quarrel with humans, but I believe I speak for the Ailians present when I say I am glad that we can be allies. Perhaps the politicians are not all in full agreement, but on behalf of the alliance of the Empire and the Ascendancy, I will gladly accept your offer of assistance.”

  Commander Carswell took her hand with a firm grip. “Done.” After shaking on the agreement, he placed his hand on his rifle. “My people are at your disposal, General. As we speak, I have SEALs, Spetsnaz, and KSK in position nearby, with Special Air Service and GIGN on the way, as well as some sniper/observer and tactical units from the Cerelan Federal Police. We've also got about fifteen thousand regulars from various nations tasked to our area, along with armor. I think altogether we have about two hundred thousand soldiers coming down planetside. They'll be linking up with your units to help out wherever they're needed.”

  Aria was surprised. “So many?” She wouldn't have thought that the humans could spare that many soldiers in the middle of a war, but as she thought about it she realized it made sense. If there was a temporary ceasefire between the Ascendancy and the humans, they would no longer have to worry as much about defending their borders.

  “Excellent,” General Soumaren said, and she looked visibly relieved. The human officer was putting a lot of trust in her for having just met, allowing her command over his people. He was very intelligent if he recognized that he would be out of his depth trying to command his own troops in such unfamiliar territory and on such short notice. And though only a fraction of the total soldiers the alliance had brought with them, two hundred thousand would be a great deal of help and much better than nothing at all. “Our top priority is the royal palace. We know that the Empress is being held there, and that is also where the rebel command is located. The palace must be taken at all costs.”

  Captain Drechsler, quiet up to this point, spoke up. “Your people provided us with some basic information about the area just prior to our departure,” she said. “We have had time to look it over. It's a difficult target, but not impossible.”

  “What you plan?” Aria asked. “Assault from front is not good, yes?”

  “I've thought about that,” Commander Carswell said. “You're all Royal Guards and Imperial Marines, right? We'll treat this as a straightforward assault. Our air assets are softening up the enemy armor and keeping those Pteryd fliers busy. I'm thinking we'll put SEAL and CFP snipers on the tops of these buildings for overwatch. While they keep us covered, SEALS and Spetsnaz will go through the roof. You Royal Guards will go with them. The rest of us will hit the perimeter and keep the rebel soldiers on the ground occupied.”

  “It is a better plan than we had before,” General Soumaren said. “I will let our troops know.”

  Aria nodded. “Yes.” She looked to Lieutenant Ayalis. “Mari, te'lek pa reshta aran ke maza. Sefe cha'ra ke ran are, cha?” The lieutenant nodded to her, and Aria turned back to the humans. “Lieutenant Ayalis is best sniper. Will go with you, show you best spots, yes?”

  “Sounds fine,” Commander Carswell said. He finally gave a grin as he looked up at the tall Ailian. “I never thought I'd be fighting alongside a cat.”

  Aria narrowed her eyes, but her muzzle widened to show her rows of sharp teeth as her tail flicked back and forth. “And I only ever see one human not scared to fight,” she said. “Is new thing for us both.”

  ******

  -Tell me what is going on out there!- Ara'lana barked at the holographic image of her field commander. The pitiful excuse for a male had called her in a
panic, not that she really needed him to tell her that something was going seriously wrong. The flurry of explosions outside in the past fifteen minutes had let her know that the enemy had arrived, but she had expected superiority in numbers right from the start. Things should have been over out there in a matter of minutes, but it seemed a more prolonged battle was raging. To say that she was unhappy would have been a gross understatement. She vowed that as soon as she had the chance, she'd kill that man for daring to be so lax in his command of her soldiers.

  -I don't know what happened, Admiral,- the officer told her. -At first there was only a handful of Royal Guards and Imperial Marines, and we had them pinned down and about to retreat. Then a group of helicopter gunships came out of nowhere, and now there are human attack fighters engaging the Pteryd. My forward observers tell me they've spotted human tanks moving towards the royal palace, and we've intercepted radio traffic from United Nations special forces.-

  -How dare you tell me such lies?- Ara'lana snarled. -You are making excuses, Commander! Our intelligence sources assured me that the United Nations was staying out of this matter.-

  -They must have been mistaken...-

  Furious, Ara'lana cut off his transmission and put in a call for Admiral Kris. The response was delayed, but eventually her admiral's face came up on the communicator. -Selina, give me a report on your situation.-

  Admiral Kris opened her mouth to reply, but the image shuddered and static clouded it for a moment. When the picture cleared she was gritting her teeth. -Admiral, the Pteryd deployed as planned to encircle the royalist fleets. We were prepared to deliver our final blow, but then a large human fleet entered the system along with the Tenth Fleet. I'm afraid the battle up here is somewhat evenly matched again.- There was the faint sound of alarms in the background of Admiral Kris' transmission. -The humans are landing soldiers and armor on the planet, and have penetrated the atmosphere with fighters and helicopter carriers.-