“Sergeant!” yelled Private Stark. He was on guard duty and had come running back under the canopy covering the gas pumps. “A Trellixian shuttle is coming down the highway. It’s up pretty high, but it’s bound to be searching for survivors.”
“Tell everyone to remain still and no talking,” ordered Tucker. “We’re a little ways off the highway and they might not notice us if there’s no movement.”
Sergeant Tucker crouched behind the bumper of one of the trucks, keeping an eye on the approaching Trellixian shuttle. It was about sixty feet long and cigar-shaped with small wings. Two small turrets were visible on the bottom of the hull with two more on top. The shuttle was about one thousand feet above the highway and traveling down its center. Occasionally it would stop and hover over an abandoned vehicle and then continue.
“I don’t like this,” muttered Corporal Owens, his eyes glued on the shuttle. “Even though we’re under this canopy, we’re still visible.”
“Let’s just hope they’re focusing on the highway. A lot of cabins, homes, and buildings are around here. They may overlook us.”
The shuttle came closer and then passed by. It continued on down the highway until it was out of sight.
Corporal Owns let out a deep breath of relief. “They didn’t see us.”
He had no sooner said those words than a bright flash came from the direction the shuttle had gone followed by the barely audible sound of an explosion.
“They found someone,” Tucker said, figuring it was the van. “We’ll give it another hour and then start down the highway.” He wasn’t looking forward to what they would find on the way.
-
The six trucks pulled out from the convenience store and headed down the ramp. Sergeant Tucker was in the lead truck, keeping a sharp eye out for the Trellixian shuttle. They had to go around wrecked vehicles and several times had to avoid bomb craters in the highway. They had traveled about six miles when they ran across the bodies of a group of civilians hiking down the road who had been hit by the Trellixian shuttle. The group had stopped briefly at the convenience store. Tucker remembered them as a young mother had been hunting for diapers. They were all dead and it was obvious from the smell as well as the visible wounds they had been hit by some type of energy weapon.
“Keep going,” Tucker said between gritted teeth. “No point in letting the women and children see this.” They had witnessed enough death already.
About an hour later the sun was rapidly setting behind the mountains when Sergeant Tucker spotted a familiar pickup. The one with the family who had stopped to get fuel earlier. It had been hit with an energy beam from the Trellixian shuttle and was cut in two.
“Stop,” ordered Tucker. He felt his blood run cold at the scene. The man and his family were still inside the pickup. It was obvious all three were dead. Tucker spent a few moments gazing at the vehicle when he saw Corporal Owens get out of his truck and walk to the battle-scarred pickup. He turned around, gasping for air.
“Damn Trellixians,” he said angrily. “That little girl can’t be more than ten or twelve.”
Sergeant Tucker looked up ahead at the setting sun. Already the long shadows from the mountains reached out for them. It would be dark soon. “Let’s go. Our turnoff is about thirty minutes ahead. With any luck, by this time tomorrow we will be deep in the mountains and won’t have to worry about any of this for a while.” Tucker was trying not to think about the dead they had come across. Maybe he should have done more to help them.
Owens nodded. “Maybe. But I suspect this war will find us again someday.”
Tucker didn’t reply. He knew the corporal was right. All Tucker was doing right now was getting his people to a place of safety. In the far distance he saw what looked like a flash of light. He waited to hear an explosion, but there was none. Just maybe they could get away from this war for a bit, but deep in his heart he knew that in time no place on Earth would be safe and the war would eventually come seeking them. When it did, he planned to be ready. “Let’s move out,” he ordered. “We still have a ways to go.”
The six trucks moved out, weaving in and out of the abandoned and destroyed vehicles. Inside their moving trucks the women and children sat huddled together, talking in low voices and wondering what the future held for them.
Chapter Eight
General Mitchell was in the Command Center of his base staring in growing frustration at the numerous viewscreens. It had been several days since the death of the president and the situation was steadily growing worse.
“Everywhere we have units engaged against the Trellixians we are suffering heavy losses,” reported General Briggs, the actual commander of the facility. “We can’t seem to put anything in their path to slow them down.”
“What are we hearing on the communication channels?” Mitchell looked at Colonel Tricia Steward, the head communications officer.
“It’s bad, sir,” she replied. “A number of stations have their power back up using emergency generators and repairing their electronics from the damage done by the EMP blasts. They’re all crying out for help. In the surviving major cities the Trellixians are systematically sweeping them block by block, killing everyone; women, children, even babies. They’re sparing no one. Police along with some military units are still getting people out of the cities but for the most part they have nowhere to go.”
General Mitchell sucked in a deep breath. They had expected this but hearing it was something else. “What major units do we have still capable of putting up a fight?”
“We have the two Columbia Class subs sitting on the ocean floor waiting for orders,” replied Major Thomas. “That’s twenty-four missiles with multiple warheads.”
“How long can they stay under?” Mitchell knew they were nuclear powered and had been recently provisioned.
“A year,” Thomas answered. “We have two subs that can resupply the Columbias underwater if necessary. The supply subs are hidden in an underwater cave in Alaska with direct access to the Pacific Ocean.”
Mitchell couldn’t imagine staying inside a submarine for a year though the crews on the two Columbias were volunteers, the Navy’s best.
“What about aircraft?” Mitchell knew they had lost many of their fighter and bomber squadrons. Some of the bases they had been hidden at were now nothing more than smoking holes in the ground.
“We have six squadrons of F-35s in concealed underground facilities,” replied Major Thomas. “In addition ten squadrons of F-22s are hidden away as well.”
Mitchell looked thoughtful. That was about three hundred planes. However, he didn’t dare order them into the air until they had a method to deal with the energy shields the Trellixians used to protect their shuttles and attack craft. “What about bombers?”
“Not as many. We have ten B-21 stealth bombers hidden and twenty B-1 Lancers. They’re much larger than the fighters and harder to hide.”
“What about active military units, Army and Marine?”
“We’ve moved the 4th Infantry Division and the 35th Infantry Division into the mountains where they can be called upon to protect this base if necessary. We have four Special Forces brigades hidden plus four regiments, including the 75th Ranger Regiment out of Fort Benning. We also have twelve Marine battalions, which have moved into the mountains to help secure areas the civilians are being directed to. That doesn’t include all the Reserve and other units fleeing into the mountains with civilians.”
General Mitchell slowly nodded. They still had a powerful military; it was just useless against the enemy they faced, at least for now. “We need those damn pulse rifles. At least with them our people would stand a chance. How soon before they’re ready?”
“Two more weeks and they should go into production,” replied Colonel Fields. “We’ve made some breakthroughs on the Jelnoid energy cannons and there’s a chance we could have those in another month or two.”
“Now we’re talking,” Mitchell said, surprised by the news. “What was
the breakthrough?” Getting the Jelnoid energy cannons to work had been one of the primary projects of the DOE. However, every time they fired one it melted the barrel into slag.
“There’s a new alloy one of the Chinese scientists came up with. It’s held up so far in initial tests. A full-size unit is being set up to see if it can handle the full power from a modified fusion reactor.” The small fusion reactors were also reverse-engineered Jelnoid technology.
“What about an energy shield?”
Colonel Fields shook his head. “Not yet, we just don’t have the power even with the small fusion reactors. Professor Wilkens and his team are seeing if it’s possible to build a larger one or even set up the small units in parallel so we can draw power from more than one. To date they’ve met with failure but Wilkens seems confident they will eventually overcome the obstacles.”
General Mitchell’s gaze went to one of the viewscreens in the Command Center focused on one of the Trellixian battlecruisers. Strangely enough, a large number of military surveillance satellites were still working. From the battlecruiser several beams of light stabbed down toward the surface of Earth, doubtlessly targeting some military unit which had chosen to stand and fight. Many such units across the world were cut off without anywhere to fall back to. They were fighting for their survival and in most cases being wiped out by superior Trellixian technology and weapons.
-
In the UK what remained of the 1st Army Division and several other British military units had been forced back into Wales. The fighting had been vicious with the Air Force doggedly attacking the Trellixians at every opportunity. The division had entered the Snowdonia National Park, hoping the mountains and rough terrain would slow down the Trellixian advance.
Major-General Saunders was inside his hastily set up field command post twelve kilometers back from the fighting. “What’s the current status of our units?”
“We’re being hard-pressed,” Colonel Young replied. “The Air Force is pretty much finished. The last F-35 went down about an hour ago. We still have a few attack helicopters flying but they’re low on fuel and ammunition.”
“The Trellixians are making it a point to take out our remaining tanks and armored personnel carriers,” added Lieutenant-Colonel Scott. “The field hospitals are overflowing with wounded.”
A loud shrieking noise filled the air. An explosion shook the tent and debris rained down on the canvas. The acrid smell of explosives permeated the air.
“Damn warp missiles,” muttered Colonel Young.
“They’re designed to be demoralizing as well as destructive,” replied Major-General Saunders.
The 11th and 42nd Brigades are nearly wiped out,” continued Lieutenant-Colonel Scott. “They’re down to under one hundred effectives each. The 1st and 20th Armored Brigades have lost all their tanks and will soon be on foot.”
Major-General Saunders shook his head. So many good men and women were dying out there and never in his life had he felt so powerless. He knew there were a few hidden military and research facilities scattered throughout the country. His job had been to lure the Trellixians into combat to give the hidden facilities time to bring in the last of their personnel. He had done that and now his part in the battle was nearly over. However, he still had one major card to play and it should shake up the Trellixians and cause them some major concern.
-
Brigadier General Charles Taylor was in a hastily dug foxhole, watching the progress of the battle with several of his surviving officers.
“The 12th Armored Brigade is falling back,” Captain Cooper reported as he listened to reports coming in over his radio. “They have only seven tanks left.”
“Apaches are going in,” called out Captain Foster. “They’ll try to cover the withdrawal of the tanks and surviving armored units.”
In the air above them, the last twelve Apache AH-64E attack helicopters dove toward the Trellixian hover tanks, which were harassing the retreating tanks and fighting vehicles. Hellfire missiles rained down on the hover tanks, exploding against the energy shields protecting the small tanks. Smoke, fire, and debris rose up into the air. When the smoke cleared only one hover tank had been destroyed. The rest continued to advance toward the faltering British lines.
“We just can’t get through those energy shields,” said a frustrated Captain Foster. “We have the firepower but those shields make it nearly useless.”
The helicopters banked sharply and used their M230 30mm chain guns to strafe the armored Trellixian solders following behind the tanks. Half a dozen of the Trellixians fell to the ground but the others returned fire with their energy weapons. One of the Apaches was hit and exploded in a fireball as its fuel ignited. Another fell to the ground as it was pierced by multiple energy beams, damaging too many controls. The Apache hit the ground so hard it exploded in smoke and fire, leaving a large crater.
“Inbound Trellixian attack craft,” warned Captain Cooper, pointing with his right hand. His left hand was bandaged where he had been wounded the day before.
Over the distant horizon, a group of twenty specks appeared which quickly grew larger. A flight of Trellixian wedge-shaped attack craft had arrived. They rapidly took off after the Apaches still strafing the Trellixian ground troops. The helicopters spotted the incoming enemy and quickly went into a series of wild gyrations as they attempted to lose the attack craft. Enemy energy beam fire tore open four of the helicopters and small interceptor missiles blew apart the last six sending fiery debris raining down on the countryside.
The attack craft then turned their attention to the battle waging below them and launched warp missiles, their loud screaming noises accompanying them as they flew through the air. Across the British lines towering explosions blew massive craters into the ground. Moments later the small ships left, flying back to be rearmed, but they had done their damage. The British line was no more.
-
“That’s it,” Captain Foster said, sliding down in the foxhole with a look of shock and hopelessness on his face. “We lost all twelve Apaches and that finished off the last of our air assets.”
Brigadier General Taylor looked at the battlefield. Across it tanks, armored personnel carriers and other fighting vehicles were either on fire or had been blown apart. Only a few still fought back. Even as he watched two of the remaining Challenger 2 main battle tanks were struck by energy beams from the advancing enemy hover tanks. The UK tanks came to a halt with one exploding, sending a towering fireball into the air. From the other hatches were flung open as the crew tried to escape. However, the alien hover tanks were firing splinter grenades from their launchers and the crew collapsed to the ground as hundreds of small flechettes penetrated their bodies, killing them instantly.
More explosions went off around the hover tanks as the remaining GMLRS, Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket System, in the 1st Regiment tried to stop the Trellixian advance. Two hover tanks were hit by numerous 200-pound high-explosive warheads, tipping them over. Several Starstreak missiles slammed into the vulnerable underbellies, destroying the two alien tanks.
However, over the horizon two more squadrons of the wedge-shaped Trellixian attack craft suddenly appeared.
Brigadier General Taylor took a deep breath and looked at Captain Cooper. “Is the tactical nuke ready?”
Captain Cooper’s eyes widened. “Yes, sir. It’s been set to a yield of thirty kilotons.” That was twice the yield of the nuclear bomb that had destroyed Hiroshima.
Brigadier General Taylor watched the inbound Trellixian attack craft; he wanted them inside the blast radius when he gave the order to detonate. He looked down at the battlefield. There was very little firing as most of the British armor was destroyed and the soldiers were dead on the field of battle. The Trellixian hover tanks advanced in a line with hundreds of armor-encased troops behind them. Occasionally a Trellixian would stop and fire a beam from his energy weapon into a wounded British soldier. Brigadier General Taylor shook his head, angered by the cr
uelty and death caused by the advancing enemy. Well, now it was his turn to show the Trellixians what it was like to die.
In the center of the battlefield, near the now-advancing Trellixians, a small concrete bunker lay hidden. Inside was a W80 nuclear warhead with its yield set to thirty kilotons.
“Hand me the detonator,” ordered Taylor, holding out his hand to Captain Cooper. “I’ll be the one doing this.”
Next to Taylor, Captain Foster closed his eyes tightly and leaned against the dirt wall of the foxhole. Very quietly he said a prayer.
Brigadier General Taylor looked at the electronic detonator in his hand. It would send a signal to the warhead, detonating it instantly. Feeling strangely calm, he watched as the Trellixian armored troops and the two squadrons of attack craft reached the hidden bunker. Without hesitation, he pressed the button.
On the battlefield, the tactical nuclear weapon detonated. The ground shook as a massive fireball rose into the air. The center of the fireball was as hot as the sun. The Trellixian tanks nearest the explosion were destroyed instantly as their energy shields were overloaded. The superheated air soon caused a mushroom cloud to rise up over the battlefield.
All unprotected troops within four kilometers were killed immediately from the blast wave and the intense heat. Soldiers’ clothes and even their skin caught on fire. The few surviving armored vehicles were blown apart as parts melted and their fuel ignited. Only a few of the Trellixian hover tanks were far enough away from the blast to retreat at high speed. The two squadrons of attack craft lost one-third of their numbers, mostly from the initial heat of the blast and the violent turbulence which knocked them out of the air.
-
Major General Saunders’ field command post was behind a small mountain and even there the effects of the nuke were felt. The ground shook and a loud rumbling could be heard. A strong gust of wind struck the command post, nearly tearing it apart.
Saunders stepped outside, seeing the rising mushroom cloud on the other side of the mountain. “He did it.” Saunders took a deep breath. Brigadier General Taylor had orders to explode their last nuke if he was in danger of being overrun, a nuke the Trellixians couldn’t detect until it detonated.
Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One) Page 11