Into the Battle

by Rosone, James

  “Copy that, sir. Stay frosty, head on a swivel with these animals,” Royce said calmly in reply.

  Lieutenant Crocker, along with several soldiers, stood not too far from the Zodark and their commander as they watched the interplay take place.

  Cornelius unfastened his helmet and took it off. The Zodark let out a curse word and uttered the term the Sumerians had told them meant “slaves.” It must be how the Zodarks viewed their human pets.

  “Thank you for agreeing to talk with me,” Cornelius said, speaking first. “I was hoping we could find some way to end this fighting.”

  The NOS let out a guttural laugh before he looked down at the Delta commander. “We are Zodarks; we do not surrender. You—you are our cattle, our slaves. Wherever your people came from, we will find you, and you will pay tribute to us like every other human colony, or your entire planet will be wiped out.”

  Before Cornelius could respond, the big creature swiped at the major’s face and head with his talon-like fingernails, practically ripping the Delta commander’s face clean off. Then, one of his four hands reached down to grab at something on his utility belt and hit a button. Fractions of a second later, an explosion ripped through the hangar deck.

  Lieutenant Crocker and several of the soldiers standing guard with him were vaporized in the blast, along with half a dozen other soldiers further away. Then guttural yells emanated from several parts of the ship as the remaining defenders did their best to fight and liberate their vessel from the humans who had boarded it.

  Over the next several hours, hand-to-hand combat determined their fate as they engaged in the most brutal fighting since they had first boarded the ship. Red and blue blood painted the halls, and dead bodies were stacked throughout the ship. Eventually, the remaining defenders were wiped out, due in large part to the advantage that the magrails and hand grenades had provided to the Earthers. A total of twenty-six Zodarks surrendered. When they finished counting the bodies, they found that almost two thousand Zodarks had been killed in this brutal combat.

  With the ship now in their control, the Republic set about the task of towing it back to New Eden while their scientists and engineers continued to examine it. Several of their Sumerian allies came aboard to help them understand the Zodark technology. It was going to take them some time to learn and understand what they had captured. Of paramount importance, though, was learning as much as they could about the enemy vessel’s offensive and defensive capabilities so they could develop a counterplan to deal with them.

  *******

  New Eden

  RNS Voyager

  As Admiral Abigail Halsey looked at the casualty reports from the capture of the Zodark ship, her stomach tightened. She felt ill, knowing how many of her Special Forces soldiers she’d lost. If these enhanced super-soldiers had this tough of a fight against the enemy on a ship, how much tougher were the Zodarks going to be on the surface of a planet, where it would be easier to hide and avoid detection?

  Placing the casualty report down, she looked at the latest damage report assessment from Captain Hunt. The Rook had somehow survived battle with not one but two Zodark ships. But it had sustained some serious damage during the clash. Captain Hunt had initially thought the ship was in better shape; however, after further examination of the hits they’d taken, it was clear they were going to need more than a few days to get everything repaired. Ultimately, what they needed was a shipyard.

  One of the three main magrail turrets had been damaged, and it looked like it was going to take them several more days to get just one of the three barrels operational again. Two of the ordnance fabricators on the decks below the main turrets had been thoroughly destroyed—that meant they only had one functional fabricator.

  Hunt’s crew had also suffered badly. He tried to play off the injuries, insisting that many of them were, in fact, walking wounded. But when Halsey talked privately with the Rook’s lead medical officer, the commander told her a different story. Of the six hundred and twenty-eight sailors assigned to the Rook, two hundred and thirty-four had been killed during the battle or died shortly after it had ended. Another three hundred and fifty-six sailors had been injured. While many of the crew were functionally wounded and still able to perform their duties, they were nowhere near ready for another fight.

  Suddenly a chime at the door to Halsey’s office sounded, letting her know someone was outside. “Enter,” she commanded.

  She smiled when Admiral Zheng Lee walked in. He was the Tri-Parte Alliance or TPA commander, and technically, her second-in-command. He commanded the eight heavy transports and two warships their alliance had sent to be a part of this joint fleet.

  “Admiral Halsey, it’s good to see you,” he responded with a smile. “I felt this meeting might be better held in person than over the holograph. May we take a seat?” asked Admiral Zheng as he motioned for them to move to a pair of couches she had set up in her office.

  “Of course, Admiral Zheng. Thank you for reaching out,” replied Halsey. “Yes, let’s take a seat and talk.”

  She walked over to a small table nearby and proceeded to prepare a tea for the admiral and a black cup of joe for herself. She then carried the two drinks over to the couch, handing the Chinese commander his favorite brand of tea, while she sat down opposite him with her coffee. They each took a minute to take a couple of sips before they got down to business.

  Admiral Zheng began. “Admiral Halsey, I wanted to congratulate your forces on successfully capturing the enemy warship. I know it wasn’t easy, and your people suffered some terrible losses in the process. I also feel for the loss of your other ships in this, our first real battle with the enemy. I must say, it was a terrifying battle to watch unfold from afar.

  “For a moment, we thought the Rook was lost. The ship was being pounded so hard by the enemy lasers and those new comet-weapons. We’d never seen anything like it. By chance, were your forces able to capture any of them on the enemy carrier?”

  Halsey nodded. “As a matter of fact, Admiral, we captured a lot of them. The Sumerians tell us they’re plasma torpedoes. We also seized more than a dozen of those fighters they attacked us with and a couple of different types of shuttlecraft. When we get the ship towed back closer to New Eden and we offload your heavy transports, I’d like to load up as much of the Zodark equipment as possible. I’ll send it back to Sol so our scientists can start studying it.

  “I’m also having our engineers cut off some portions of the enemy ship’s armor and dismantling some of their pulse beam weapons as best we can so we can bring it back to be studied. The more we can research their technology, the more we can integrate that knowledge into the new warships we’re building back home.”

  Admiral Zheng smiled at the news. “This is most reassuring, Admiral. I’m glad our two nations are finding ways to work together and share technology like this. I believe our joint efforts are going to give our people a fighting chance against these hideous beasts.” He paused to take a sip of tea. “So, what would you like my force to do now that the main battle is over?” he asked. “What are your thoughts on how you’d like my ships and transports to deploy?”

  Admiral Halsey paused for a moment as she thought about that. Finally, she leveled her gaze at him. “First, we need to scan the surface of New Eden and start looking for signs of any Zodark forces. They may have established some military outposts or reinforced some of their mining camps. In either case, we need to neutralize them quickly and then secure the mines. We’ve got to start mining as much of the Trimar and Morean minerals as we can and get them transported back to Earth. Those are the only resources our shipyards need to get the rest of our new fleet built. We’ve got to turn this system into a fortress before the enemy can reinforce it on us.”

  “I agree with you, Admiral,” Zheng replied. “If you do not oppose, I’d like to offer our two warships, the Han and the Xi, to move into orbit of New Eden and start working on identifying what possible enemy encampments are down there.
Do I have your permission to issue the order?” the Chinese admiral asked. He clearly didn’t want his forces to miss out on all the action.

  Admiral Halsey leaned back in her chair. “That sounds good—thank you for offering. Once we’ve found their locations, I’ll order the orbital assault ships into position. We’ll proceed with eliminating any threats to the transports before we allow them to enter the planet’s orbit. It’s imperative that we get the planet secured so we can start work on the space elevator. We need to get that thing built so we can start our mining operations.”

  The two of them chatted for a while about the finer points of how to carry out their plans. An hour later, the TPA admiral left to return to his ship and get his people ready for the next phase of the operation. Both leaders were under a lot of pressure by their home governments to secure the planet and get the resources needed to build a fleet strong enough to defend Sol.

  Chapter Three

  More Surprises

  New Eden – High Orbit

  RNS Rook

  It frustrated Captain Hunt to watch the Xi settle into orbit over New Eden. His ship was supposed to lead the way for the orbital assault, not one of the less powerful TPA warships. However, until his crews repaired the main guns and the munition fabricators, his combat power was significantly reduced.

  He still had more than a dozen hull breaches needing to be sealed on the outer hull of the ship. His lead engineer, Commander Jacob Lyons, had a small group of repair Synths crawling over the exterior of the vessel sealing the ship, using their newly invented nanite paste. It wasn’t a long-term solution, but it would work until they could get back to a shipyard.

  Hunt hated to admit it, but his ship had taken a beating in this last fight. No, scratch that, a butt-whooping, he thought. The fact that they hadn’t been blown apart was more due to luck than anything else. It was probably the three destroyers that had attempted to attack the enemy carrier that had ultimately saved his ship—that, and the fact that the Voyager had moved into position as a shield between them and the enemy ship.

  Had the Zodark carrier been able to keep its weapons focused on them instead of the destroyers and the Voyager, then chances were the Rook would have been blown apart. He’d have to make sure he wrote up a recommendation for some gallantry awards for the sailors and commanders on those ships. They had earned them.

  Hunt looked down at the tablet on his desk. He had been reviewing the after-action review or AAR reports from Captain Hopper and some of the other NCOs from the assault on the Zodark carrier. They were impressive to read. Short video segments highlighted some of the key points mentioned in the report. Two videos had been specially marked from Captain Hopper for him to view. They were brief, so Hunt figured he’d take a moment to watch them.

  The first was a scene of Master Sergeant Brian Royce. His breaching team of seven Deltas had not only found a way into the enemy ship, but they had also led the initial charge. Hunt watched the short video of the gunfight in the hangar and how the seven-man team had dealt with an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers attempting to rally a defense. It was impressive to watch how fast and agile the Delta team was.

  The second video was time-stamped not too long after the first. Hunt clicked play, and what he saw was truly incredible. He saw a lone figure clad in his exoskeleton combat suit, charging headlong into a multitude of both dead and wounded Zodarks. The soldier thrashed about with his rifle, using it as a club in certain circumstances and shooting the enemy at point-blank range when required. The surreal fight lasted only a minute or two, but at the end of it, the man stood there, triumphant. Hunt noted it was the same man, Master Sergeant Brian Royce.

  At the end of the AAR report, Captain Hopper recommended Royce be immediately awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. He also recommended meritoriously promoting him to lieutenant to take the place of Lieutenant Aaron Crocker, who had been killed in the suicide blast by the Zodark NOS. Hunt initially agreed with the recommendations, but on further reflection, he decided he’d try to upgrade Royce’s award to the Medal of Honor. He’d never seen something so crazy or heroic in his life. Hunt had a feeling he’d be seeing this video again—things like this tended to go viral.

  Hunt continued reading the report and sighed. The battalion of Deltas had been mauled in the process of seizing the Zodark vessel. They had started this mission with five hundred and forty Deltas. They were now down to four hundred and thirteen. The officer and senior NCO ranks had been devastated during the assault, so they needed to make some battlefield promotions to keep things running.

  A knock at the door broke Captain Hunt’s concentration. Looking up, he saw Commander Fran McKee standing there. He smiled and waved her in.

  “You look about as tired as I feel, Fran,” he said with a chuckle. “How go the repairs?”

  She made her way over to the set of chairs in front of his desk and sat down in one of them. She sighed briefly before she replied, “Oh, they’re going fine—just taking longer than I’d like.”

  Hunt grunted. Everything in space either took time to accomplish or killed you in fractions of a second—seldom was there an in-between.

  “How’s that nanite paste working out?” he inquired. The technology was something new they were trying out, and he still wasn’t completely sold on it.

  She shot him the stink eye. “I’m no engineer, Captain, but I have a hard time believing that slapping a bunch of sticky nanite paste over a hole in the hull is going to seal it up properly. I think it should be used to help fill in the gouges cut into the hull, but not to seal it. I’d much rather trust a proper weld than some nanite crap the R&D boys cooked up.”

  Hunt snickered. “I’m sure Commander Lyons has thought about that, or he wouldn’t have recommended we use it. My understanding, Fran, is that he’s only using it to seal up the patches. I hear the paste is made of that same type of material they’ll be using for the new space elevators. It’s supposed to be a ‘molecularly perfect’ material,” Hunt explained, using air quotes.

  He leaned forward in his chair. “Changing subjects, Commander—what’s the status of New Eden? Do we know what’s down there on the ground yet?”

  She sat up a bit straighter in her chair. “As a matter of fact, that was one of the reasons I was coming to see you,” she replied, her tone of voice much softer, as if she were afraid someone would overhear. “One of the satellites did find something on the ground. The Xi and Voyager have just entered the planet’s orbit. They’re going to conduct a more thorough scan of the planet before they deploy the ground forces. However, they already found Zodark activity at one of the mining colonies we previously attacked.”

  His left eyebrow rose in surprise. “Really? I’m actually shocked. The planet doesn’t seem to have any planetary defenses—”

  “Sorry to interrupt, Captain, but you’re receiving a flash message from Admiral Halsey,” announced Lieutenant Branson, his coms officer. “I’m patching her through to your station now.”

  A moment later, an image of Admiral Halsey on the bridge of the Voyager appeared. A warning klaxon blared in the background. “Captain Hunt, it would appear the Zodarks kept a surprise waiting for us on the surface—we’re taking pretty accurate ground fire. They’re launching some of those smaller fighter aircraft like the ones that attacked you from that carrier we captured.

  “I’m going to pull the Voyager and the Xi into a higher orbit. I want your ship to move into a blocking position between us and the planetary defenses below. Between our two ships, we’ll have more point defense systems to handle the enemy fighters and any of those plasma torpedoes they may fire at us.”

  Crap, this isn’t good, Hunt thought. What else do they have waiting for us on the surface?

  “That’s a good copy, Admiral. We’ll start moving to your position now,” Hunt replied. “I’ll have my tactical officer coordinate with yours, and we’ll start lobbing some slugs down on those enemy pulse batteries on the surface.”
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  “Just do it, Captain. Halsey out,” she said. Then her holographic image disappeared into the chaos of her bridge.

  Hunt turned to McKee. “XO, move us into a blocking position as the admiral ordered,” he ordered. The two of them stood and headed toward the bridge, while Hunt continued issuing orders. “Tell Commander Lyons he needs to pull his repair crews in from outside the ship. Our people or repair Synths can’t be outside if we have to make sudden maneuvers.”

  As he entered the bridge, Hunt immediately saw the image of the orbital battle taking place around the Xi and the Voyager.

  “What’s going on, people?” Hunt called out to the officers on deck as XO McKee made her way back over to the tactical station. She’d need a few minutes to get caught back up.

  “Sir, the Xi and Voyager are taking ground fire from at least four known positions,” Lieutenant Cory LaFine explained. “The weapons appear to be pulse beam batteries. Sensors are also showing several large swarms of fighters forming up around one of the ground bases.”

  “Is that formation of fighters still close to the surface, or are they heading up to orbit to attack our ships?” Hunt asked as he took his seat in the captain’s chair.

  LaFine furrowed his brow as he examined his screen. “They’re still forming up near the surface, a few thousand meters above the ground. They haven’t advanced toward our ships yet.”

  Hunt smiled; an idea had just popped in his head. “OK, here’s what I want to do. Weps, use our working magrail turret to send a couple dozen slugs into the formation of fighters near the surface. I suspect they are circling in a tight pattern while they figure out how and when they’re going to attack us. Let’s see if we can’t take a few of them out before they become a threat.

  “Next, I want some firing solutions on those enemy pulse batteries. Let’s spin up some of our Havoc missiles and give ’em a try. Use the conventional warheads and see if we can get lucky and take out a good chunk of the ground force they have defending the area.”