“Are you implying we lost some of our battlecruisers?”
“Nine,” answered Jaltor. “It was a coordinated attack across the entire planet.”
“I assume you’re taking us into orbit?”
“Yes, Battle Commander. If the Humans do have Jelnoid technology I wasn’t certain what they might hit us with next.”
“How soon before the invasion fleet arrives?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Very well, as soon as the fleet goes into orbit we will begin planetary bombardment. I’ll be in the Command Center shortly.”
Battle Commander Balforr took a moment to consider what had just happened. Somehow the Humans had launched a coordinated nuclear attack against his battlecruisers, taking his ships by surprise. Energy shields had been down or operating at a minimum. It took too much energy to operate the shields at full power inside a planet’s atmosphere. No doubt the Humans had detected the invasion fleet orbiting the eighth planet of the system and realized what it was. It was astonishing they would willingly sacrifice their cities to destroy his battlecruisers. No enemy had ever tried this gambit before. Balforr would not underestimate the Humans again.
-
President Drummond was in the Situation Room in the underground Command Center. Reports rapidly came in on the attacks against the Trellixian battlecruisers. A few moments before he had felt the underground bunker shake as if an earthquake had struck. He knew it was from the detonation of a nuclear missile against the battlecruiser hovering above Washington, DC.
“We got nine of their battlecruisers,” reported General Mason. “The Japanese struck first, taking out the ships over Tokyo and Yokohama. We got the ones over Los Angeles, Dallas, and Houston. The Russians took out the ones over Moscow and Saint Petersburg and the British destroyed the one over London. The Chinese only got one, the battlecruiser above Beijing. However, we have a lot of major world cities in ruin. Paris, Rome, Berlin, Washington, DC, and others to name a few. The Japanese struck a full minute early. If they hadn’t we might have gotten a few more of the battlecruisers.”
“What are the Trellixians doing?” Drummond was certain they would be retaliating shortly.
“All of their surviving ships are rising from the surface,” replied Dwight Meadows. “We believe they’re going into orbit. Their invasion fleet will be here shortly. All their shuttles have either docked with the battlecruisers or are on their way into orbit.”
“We’ve ordered most of our military aircraft to stay on the ground until further notice,” added General Mason. “They can do nothing at the moment. It’s best if we try to save as many of them as we can in case we need them later.”
Drummond looked at Meadows and then back at General Mason. “Will they begin an all-out assault?”
Mason nodded. “That’s what General Mitchell believes. We’re in the process now of moving planes, troops, and other essential supplies to less vulnerable locations. Our main bases will be the first they strike. Warning sirens are sounding in all the major cities. The Emergency Broadcast System has been activated and the prerecorded messages are going out.” These messages encouraged the public to take immediate cover in shelters, basements, and the lower levels of their homes. Travel was discouraged.
“What about hitting the Trellixians in orbit with nuclear missiles?” Drummond knew they had the ability.
General Mason grinned. “As soon as their invasion fleet arrives General Mitchell intends to do just that.”
-
Inside the massive underground military Command Center deep in the bowels of the Rocky Mountains, General Mitchell watched the big screens, revealing what was occurring around the planet as well as in orbit. On a number of screens dissipating mushroom clouds were visible where nuclear weapons had stuck the Trellixian battlecruisers.
“Four minutes until arrival of the invasion fleet. They’re just passing the orbit of the Moon,” reported Colonel Henry Fields, watching a special sensor screen based on Jelnoid technology.
“Our missile satellites are on standby,” reported Major Jase Thomas.
“We’ll launch as soon as they go into orbit. Target every one of those supposed troop ships.” Twenty satellites were in orbit as part of the joint defense network. The underground Command Center had control of all of them. There was a second emergency Command Center in Russia which could take over if the Rocky Mountain center was knocked out.
The minutes slowly passed by and the invasion fleet joined the other twenty-four Trellixian battlecruisers in orbit.
-
Battle Commander Balforr watched the ship’s main tactical display as the invasion fleet arrived.
“Battle Commander Traven reports he’s ready to launch the attack,” said Second Officer Jaltor. “I’ve sent him the target list and he’s downloading it to his battlecruisers.”
“Excellent,” Balforr replied as he shifted his gaze to a viewscreen showing the blue-white globe they orbited. “Our orbital bombardment should end all resistance on this planet before it can get started.” Balforr was certain the surprise nuclear attack had been aimed at annihilating all his battlecruisers. It had failed and now the Humans would pay a severe penalty for their arrogance.
-
In high orbit, twenty satellites disguised as large communication satellites suddenly broke apart, leaving a bare skeleton behind. On the skeleton resided six special missiles equipped with Jelnoid technology. The missiles had an advanced EM drive, capable of delivering a sudden burst of acceleration. Special shielding prevented Trellixian sensors from detecting the nuclear warheads. Each missile contained a W80-4 warhead set at 150 kilotons of explosive force. At a command from the ground, the missiles were released from the platforms and their drives ignited immediately.
-
Alarms sounded in Balforr’s Command Center, startling him as he glared at the tactical display. His eyes widened in shock as he saw over one hundred missiles rapidly accelerating toward his fleet. It looked as if every ship was targeted. The missiles came from above! How was this possible? Were there hidden ships in orbit above his fleet?
“Shields!” he called out, immediately recognizing the threat. They had not expected to be attacked from orbit. His own fleet still had their shields up due to the earlier attack near the surface but not all of Battle Commander Traven’s ships did. “Send the order for all ships to raise their shields! Activate point defenses!” Energy shields took tremendous quantities of power and were normally kept at very low levels unless there was a threat.
Looking at a nearby tactical screen, he saw shields instantly pop up around most of Battle Commander Traven’s ships. A few troop ships remained unprotected. His eyes focused on the red threat icons representing the inbound missiles. They were rapidly nearing the fleet.
“Point defense activated,” reported Second Officer Jaltor. “We’re having a hard time locking on to targets. Those missiles have Jelnoid technology built into them. The space drive and the shielding technology is also Jelnoid.”
“Find out where those missiles came from,” ordered Balforr as he gazed at the tactical display showing the inbound missiles. They were nearly to the fleet. He felt growing anger and frustration at these Humans. How dare they attack ships of the Empire!
-
On the hull of the flagship defensive energy beam turrets turned and fired upon the incoming missiles. In bright explosions some of the missiles were vaporized. Other energy beams missed completely as the battlecruisers were having a hard time locking on to targets. One hundred twenty missiles were launched and in a matter of a few seconds, thirty-two of them were eliminated. Then bright flashes erupted against the energy shields of the battlecruisers and troop transports as eighty-eight missiles armed with 150-kiloton nuclear warheads detonated. Several shields wavered and four battlecruisers struck by four or more missiles saw their shields fail. Follow-up missiles slammed into the unprotected hulls, detonating in massive flashes of light. Hull armor and the interior of the s
hips instantly turned into glowing plasma as the battlecruisers were incinerated from the tremendous heat of the blasts. They blew apart, sending flaming debris in all directions.
Six troop transports frantically attempted to get their shields up. They had been taken down for repairs since no space opposition was expected in this system. Before the shields could be brought back online missiles stuck all six ships. The six troop transports vanished as nuclear fireballs blew them apart, killing all on board. Then the missile attack died out as the last missile was destroyed by defensive fire just short of the ship it had targeted.
On Earth, all eyes turned upward to stare at the bright flashes in the sky. Vehicles suddenly ceased to work and power grids crashed as the electromagnetic pulses from the blasts struck the surface. Across most of the planet the lights went out, TVs died, the internet stopped functioning, and radio stations ceased to broadcast. Only a few older vehicles still worked and in a few areas where the power grid had been hardened to resist an EMP blast the lights still burned in the night.
-
On one of the large screens, General Mitchell watched as a Trellixian troop ship blew apart. He knew thousands of enemy soldiers had just died on that vessel.
“Ten confirmed kills,” reported Colonel Henry Fields, sounding pleased. “Six troop ships and four more battlecruisers.”
“I was hoping for more,” said Mitchell, his shoulders drooping slightly. “That was our last big chance to cause some major damage.” There had been plans to deploy more of the missile satellites but the Trellixians had shown up too soon.
“Most of the ships had their shields up or raised them before our missiles struck,” explained Major Thomas. “We weren’t expecting such rapid response times. Also their defensive systems are far better than what we thought though they had a hard time locking on to the Jelnoid missiles.”
General Mitchell stared at the glowing wreckage left by the nuclear explosions. Even that soon died out in the harsh vacuum of space. “They’ve done this countless times in the past. We may have thrown a few wrenches into their invasion plans but it’s still not enough.”
“The EMP from the nuclear blasts has pretty well paralyzed everything,” reported Colonel Fields. “Power is out and most vehicles are dead. The people won’t be escaping the cities now. A few areas escaped the effects of the EMP but not many.”
“Not for long,” said Major Thomas with a grave look in his eyes. “As soon as the Trellixians start their bombardment all power will be out.”
General Mitchell nodded. “We were expecting this. Many of our troops have shielded vehicles or won’t be affected. Very shortly this will turn into a ground battle.”
“Several of the battlecruisers are readjusting their orbits,” reported Colonel Fields. “I believe it’s to take into account the ones we managed to take out.”
“Contact all commands and tell them to prepare for imminent nuclear attack. They’ll try to wipe us out now. All interceptors to engage targets of opportunity.” Hundreds of Jelnoid-designed interceptor missiles were scattered across the country in small hidden bunkers. General Mitchell knew it would now be up to them to protect the US. With the EMP coming from the nuclear explosions in orbit, the evacuations of the cities would be at a standstill. People would now have to walk or use bicycles. Some older vehicles could still function and people would fight over them. The country was about to descend into further chaos and he could do nothing to stop it.
-
Battle Commander Balforr had just spoken to Battle Commander Traven. He was highly upset about losing six of his troop transports as well as four battlecruisers. Balforr reminded Traven this was now an active war zone and precautions should have been taken, including ships’ energy shields readied to activate if needed.
“Incompetence!” said Balforr, looking at Second Officer Jaltor. “Traven knew we lost several ships earlier and he should have been ready.”
“The Humans are clever,” said Second Officer Jaltor. “That’s twice they’ve taken us by surprise.”
“But no longer,” said Balforr, his eyes glowing red. “Begin the bombardment!”
-
In space, hatches slid open on the Trellixian battlecruisers. Missiles dropped from the ships toward their designated targets. Each missile had a twenty-kiloton warhead capable of wiping out a medium-size city. These were special warheads and the radiation from them would die out in thirty hours, making it safe to land Trellixian troops. The troops would spread out across the planet, eliminating any and all survivors.
As the missiles streaked through the atmosphere, interceptors launched, arrowing upward toward their targets. Small bright explosions filled Earth’s atmosphere as the interceptors found the inbound Trellixian missiles. For the first eight minutes every missile launched by the Trellixians was intercepted but then the last interceptor left its silo. It struck a descending nuclear missile, destroying it in a bright fireball.
The next wave of nuclear missiles rained down unopposed, striking military installations across the planet. The first targets were nuclear missile bases and silos. The next round of targets were the hard above ground Command Centers. Then the Trellixians switched to military bases and ships. Across the planet hundreds of mushroom clouds rose toward space.
-
Battle Commander Balforr watched in growing anger as his missiles were knocked down by the Human interceptors. Then, finally, they began reaching their targets as the interceptors no longer rose up to destroy them. Bright flashes of light exploded across the planet as the twenty-kiloton nuclear weapons detonated above their targets, incinerating everything beneath.
Second Officer Jaltor turned away from his command console. “They knocked down nearly 22 percent of our missile payloads before they ran out of interceptors. Analysis of the missile interceptors indicates the use of more Jelnoid technology.”
Balforr shook his head as he gazed coldly at the viewscreens as additional nuclear detonations erupted across the planet. “This is a dangerous world. It is good we arrived here before they became more advanced and a greater threat to the Empire.”
“That threat will soon be gone,” replied Jaltor.
On the screen a nuclear missile detonated over the heart of a major city, causing a firestorm to erupt. Balforr watched, knowing that very soon this world would no longer be a threat but a part of the growing Trellixian Empire.
-
“San Diego Naval Base, Camp Pendleton, Edwards Air Force Base, MacDill Air Force Base, Elgin Air Force Base, Fort Hood, Quantico, Norfolk.”
“That’s enough!” said General Mitchell, his face white as a ghost. He didn’t want to listen to the long list of military targets being taken out. The work of generations and several trillion dollars’ worth of equipment and infrastructure were being destroyed.
The entire room went deathly quiet with people talking only in whispers. On the big screens the lists of destroyed bases steadily grew. Satellites still operated and showed the deadly carnage raining down on the planet.
The room shook slightly and General Mitchell looked at Colonel Fields for an explanation.
“NORAD. We’re showing multiple nuclear strikes at the Cheyenne Mountain facility.”
-
Over the next hour General Mitchell sat stone-faced as the world’s primary military installations were all wiped out. Nuclear missile silos and Command Centers, shipyards, airfields, training bases, and even warships at sea.
“It’s slowing down,” said Colonel Braden Taylor as fewer nuclear flashes appeared on the main screens. “Their targets now seem to be population centers.”
“Our secure facilities?” It was essential these remain hidden and unharmed, or all their preparations of the last eighty years would go for naught.
“Still intact,” reported Colonel Fields. “A lot of regular military units also escaped into the countryside and the mountains.”
General Mitchell nodded. That was good news as it meant there was still a sha
dow of hope for their future.
-
President Drummond had retired to his quarters in the deep underground Command and Control Center. He had watched the destruction of the world on the big screens. It had been horrifying to have a front row seat to the deaths of billions. General Mason informed Drummond that several of the secret underground transit lines were still open if he wanted to evacuate. Drummond declined. He didn’t know where else to go. No, he would stay here and see if he could make some difference in this new and devastated world.
Chapter Five
Major Mark Dolan was in the small Command Center deep inside the mountain where his battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment was hidden. All six hundred members were inside with the large outer door shut. Another 126 soldiers and civilians inside the bunker were responsible for its day-to-day operations. Additional camouflage netting had been put in place to make the heavy steel door almost impossible to spot. All vehicles had been parked in small underground bunkers in the surrounding forest. There were no signs outside of any humans having been in this area for a long period of time. Considerable effort had gone into ensuring all ATV tracks and other signs of human activity had been thoroughly removed.
“What’s the latest?” Mark asked as he stepped closer to the officer in front of the communications console. They could use several secure underground lines to communicate with other hidden facilities.
“We’ve been ordered to stay inside and not to venture out under any condition,” reported Lieutenant Bennington. “We’re at DEFCON 1 and there have been confirmed reports of the use of nuclear weapons, both by us and the Trellixians.”
Mark felt as if he had been hit between the eyes. Nuclear weapons meant massive civilian casualties. He worried about his sister in Dallas and parents in Houston. Were they still safe or had nukes already been used on both cities? “Try to get a list of what’s been hit,” ordered Mark. “What about the command structure? What’s still out there?” Mark was concerned about the chain of command.
Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One) Page 6