Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One)

by Raymond L. Weil

  “That explains the rapid advancement of our computer technology in the late twentieth century,” Mark said in sudden realization.

  “Yes, that and several other areas as well,” Branson added.

  Getting up, Colonel Branson walked across the small office, putting his hands behind his back before turning around to face Mark once again. “We knew we didn’t have time to adequately prepare Earth to mount an effective defense to hold back the coming Trellixian invasion. The science and technology just weren’t there, at least not at first. We did manage to improve some weapon systems and to build the big base up above that the Trellixians smashed so thoroughly but we didn’t put all our eggs into just one basket.”

  Mark leaned forward, his curiosity piqued.

  “The civilian complex here is truly amazing. It’s a cylinder nearly fourteen miles long and three wide with a ceiling nearly a mile overhead. It’s located beneath a chain of rugged mountains and lies almost seven miles beneath the ground. It was built with technology we gleaned from the crashed Roswell ship. We used massive heat beams to vaporize the rocks and create the chambers we needed in which to build our facilities.”

  “Also a series of labs, living quarters, and recreation areas were set into the walls of the complex, providing us the maximum amount of living space. The huge open spaces of the complex were determined to be needed in case we had to spend much time underground. Some of the world’s best scientists and technicians have been gathered in this complex as has a select group of civilians. We have nearly 280,000 nonmilitary personnel in the civilian complex.”

  Mark leaned back in his chair, surprised and amazed at what Colonel Branson was describing. The work he had seen so far was breathtaking and that so many people had been safeguarded here was unbelievable. He could hardly wait to see this habitat, this underground world. For the first time in a number of days he felt hope.

  “There are also two smaller military complexes. We plan to continue harassing operations against the Trellixians from the two bases. We’ve built a number of deep underground subway tunnels shielded from Trellixian detection to allow us to move about large parts of the country virtually undetected. We’ll supply new weapons we’re developing to surviving civilian populations on the surface as well as to our troops who have taken refuge in the mountains.”

  “When the Trellixians attacked we were nearly ready to put a new rifle into production; the scientists call it a pulse rifle. It fires a thin stream of energy which will cut through a solid sheet of steel like it’s butter. We have an assembly line set up in the civilian complex and the first 1,500 pulse rifles should be ready within the next few days or so. Our Rangers will get them first. We’re also developing a more powerful pulse cannon which should be able to shoot down Trellixian shuttles and attack craft. Once we get those to the defensive lines that have been set up to protect the civilians, we should be able to hold back the Trellixians indefinitely.”

  “Sounds like something our troops at the mountain could have used,” Mark replied bitterly, remembering how their conventional weapons had been unable to penetrate the suits of armor the Trellixian ground troops wore.

  “If we’d been given more time …” replied Branson, nodding his head in agreement. “The two military complexes are located short distances from the civilian complex. Each contains six thousand highly trained troops plus support personnel. The troops will be used for quick surgical strikes against the Trellixians once our forces are equipped and trained with the new weapons. You should also know we evacuated thousands of personnel as well as troops from the mountain base before it was destroyed. Over 11,000 troops managed to escape. General Mitchell was in charge of the base and he and his staff escaped unharmed.”

  It was a relief to know so many had escaped the assault on the base and that General Mitchell had survived. They would still face almost insurmountable odds. Even with the pulse rifle and the pulse cannon the military couldn’t stop the alien battlecruisers. “What are our chances against the Trellixians?” Mark asked.

  “If we can eventually arm the civilian population with pulse rifles and disperse them as much as possible, we can wage a guerrilla war against the Trellixians for years. Some of our troops will be assigned to training civilian militias. With the resources of our complexes we believe we can make our world untenable for them. Our scientists are the best the world has to offer and are working intently on finding a way to defeat the Trellixians and drive them from our world.

  “Given time, we may find what we need but our job will be to disrupt the enemy as much as possible and to ensure as large a section of the civilian population survives. We also want to ensure the Trellixians can’t establish any colonies anywhere on Earth.”

  Mark was silent for a long moment. “That may be all well and good, sir but the Trellixians have their battlecruisers and as long as those are in orbit around Earth I don’t see what we can do. They also have that new weapon they used and I’m not sure even these complexes you have been telling me about would be safe from it. Captain Reynolds thought it might be an antimatter weapon.”

  “Come over here, Major,” ordered Colonel Branson.

  Mark did as ordered, wondering what the colonel wanted.

  “I’m about to show you our biggest secret, something we’ve been working on for years.” Colonel Branson then turned and pressed a button on the wall. Instantly part of the wall slid open revealing a large window. “Look.”

  Mark stepped forward and glanced out the window. He stood frozen, scarcely believing what he saw. “Are those what I think they are?”

  “Yes,” replied Branson, gazing at the busy scene below. “We’ve been working on them for years and they’re close to being finished.”

  Mark and the colonel were high up overlooking an enormous cavern. It held a huge construction facility with ten large objects lying in their berths. Each was a massive cylinder with a curved bow and flared stern.

  “Those are spaceships, one thousand feet in length and two hundred in diameter,” Branson informed Mark with a large smile on his face. “This is part of a major construction and factory complex which extends for over twenty miles. Over eighty thousand people call this place home.”

  Mark was speechless as he gazed at the huge constructions. It was obvious they still had a ways to go before the ships were completed. Several of the vessels had armor missing on their hulls and each was covered in a spiderweb lattice of scaffolding. Construction workers swarmed over the vessels, and the bright arcs of welders flashed everywhere.

  “How?” he finally managed to blurt out.

  “As I told you earlier, we reverse-engineered many of the systems from the ship in the Roswell crash and had the help of the sole survivor, Strold, the ship’s engineer. We’ve only recently designed the necessary power source for the ships and if the alloys in that energy rifle Captain Reynolds brought back proves out we can finally finish these ships.”

  “How soon before they’re done?” Mark still felt stunned by the sight before him. It was hard to believe that very shortly the human race might have its own interstellar spaceships.

  “Two more years,” Branson replied. “We’d hoped to have them finished before the Trellixians showed up but that didn’t happen.”

  “What’s to become of me, sir?” Mark asked. “What’s my next assignment?”

  “Eventually I’ll assign you to one of those ships,” Branson answered with a slight smile. “Learn how they function from bow to stern and in two years you’ll be helping to drive the Trellixians from our world. For the immediate future you will return to your unit, along with the first shipment of pulse rifles. With the troops who escaped General Mitchell’s base we’ll be increasing the number of troops along the defensive lines we’ve set up in the mountains.”

  “What if we can’t defeat the Trellixians?”

  Branson was quiet for a moment, as he gazed at the human battlecruisers. “We leave,” he replied in a steadfast voice. “We load the ships wi
th our most able and brightest people and send them out into the galaxy to find a new world to start over on. Perhaps someday they can return to Earth and set it free.”

  Mark felt his heart quicken at the thought of searching the galaxy for a new world. It would be a great experience finding one and starting human civilization on a virgin planet. It would also be sad as it would signify the loss of humanity’s home world, perhaps forever.

  Mark’s gaze returned to the ships in the construction facility. He was amazed at what had been accomplished here. When the big military base had been destroyed he’d thought Earth was finished and the human race would fade away to extinction. Now they had hope and the possibility of a future.

  Someday the humans would rise from the ashes and the Trellixians would learn what they had awakened by attacking Earth. From this last bastion of hope the human race would reach out and conquer the stars. Mark wanted to be a part of that.

  With a smile he realized his battles with the Trellixians were far from over.

  -

  Lisa and Professor Wilkens spent over two hours catching up on all that had happened since they last saw one another.

  “I’m sorry about your parents and Streth,” Wilkens said. “I sent people to get them, but the Trellixians attacked before they could get there. I should have acted sooner.”

  “At least you tried,” said Lisa, trying not to shed tears as she thought of her parents and Streth. “I have a question for you.”

  Professor Wilkens grinned. “Let me guess. You want to know what ad astra means, beyond its literal translation.”

  Lisa nodded. “I’ve been curious about that ever since you mentioned those words.”

  Professor Wilkens leaned forward, touching several icons on his computer screen on his desk. Instantly the large viewscreen behind him flared to life.

  Lisa’s eyes widened as she saw what was displayed. “Are those spaceships?”

  Wilkens nodded. “Yes, we’ve been working on them for nearly twelve years. In two more they’ll be done. We either drive the Trellixians from our planet or we set out for the stars to start over.”

  “Ad astra,” replied Lisa in understanding. “Can we defeat the Trellixians? They have a lot of those big battlecruisers in orbit.”

  “We have a chance,” Wilkens replied. “Jelnoid technology is superior to Trellixian technology. If the Jelnoids had possessed a larger fleet it’s doubtful the Trellixians could have defeated them.”

  “What will I do now?”

  “For the time being you will help me in my research. Eventually you and the other special captains will be assigned to those vessels as science officers.”

  Lisa looked surprised. “How many other captains survived?”

  Professor Wilkens let out a deep sigh. “Not as many as we had hoped. We lost a number of our brightest young people trying to gather information on the Trellixians.” Standing, the professor indicated for Lisa to come with him. “Major Lorre needs to debrief you. She will also give you more detailed information on this complex and the spaceships. When she’s finished I will send someone to get you. We still have a lot to talk about.”

  Lisa followed the professor down a hallway to another room where he indicated she should enter. Stepping inside, Lisa stood frozen in amazement. Fourteen other special captains were in the room. Most she recognized from her previous briefing with Major Lorre. However, two of them were grinning from ear to ear. Both Benda Olson and Brett Masterson were here.

  “What took you so long?” asked Brett, standing and coming to give Lisa a big hug. Brenda was next and then the three stood, looking at one another.

  “I was afraid the two of you didn’t make it.”

  “We were recalled the same day you left,” Brett explained. He gestured at the other captains watching the three of them. “We all were.”

  Major Lorre cleared her throat. “If you three are finished, we have a lot to cover today.”

  Lisa nodded as they sat down next to one another. A new phase of the war was starting and she would play an important part, all three of them would. Looking around at the confident faces of her fellow research associates she realized this war was far from over. Just maybe the Trellixians had bit off more than they could handle in attacking Earth.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lisa was working with Professor Wilkens in his lab. It felt good to be wearing a lab coat once again.

  “The alloys the Trellixians use are remarkable,” said Professor Weir. “The amount of heat they can withstand without breaking down is astonishing.”

  “Do you think they use the same alloys in the energy weapons their battlecruisers possess?” asked Lisa. She had witnessed the massive destruction those beams had caused at General Mitchell’s command base.

  “These or some very similar,” Weir replied as he studied the latest analysis of the alloys on his computer screen. “These alloys will solve many of the overheating problems we’ve experienced due to the high level of energy needed for the energy weapons we want to produce.”

  Professor Wilkens looked at Weir. “Can we make these alloys ourselves?”

  Professor Weir nodded. “I don’t see why not. From our studies we know the basic composition of the alloys. I believe we could begin producing them in just a few days.”

  “We could greatly increase the number of rounds our pulse rifles can fire,” said Professor Fournier excitedly. “With our current design we can only fire ten or twelve shots before the barrels must cool down. By lining the barrels and the power relays with these alloys we would not have to worry about a cool-down time.”

  “I suspect any soldier using one of these pulse rifles would appreciate that,” said Lisa. She could imagine if a soldier stopped firing in the middle of a battle to cool down his rifle, it would leave him in a quite dangerous situation.

  Wilkens nodded. He knew at the moment the rifles would not fire once they overheated. He faced Professor Fournier. “Do it with the second run of rifles, not with the first. We must get those first 1,500 out immediately. General Mitchell will not accept any more delays.”

  “Those first rifles are going to the Rangers?” said Lisa, pleased to know the people who had protected her for the last few months would now be receiving weapons which could kill the Trellixians. “They’re protecting a lot of civilians.”

  “These alloys will solve our problems with the fusion power plants as well,” Professor Andre Leon added as he looked over Weir’s shoulders at the data on the computer screen. “We can build larger plants or link the smaller ones together in a series. It will allow us to generate almost unlimited power.”

  “Then we’re all in agreement?” asked Professor Wilkens. “These alloys are the way to go?”

  Everyone nodded or answered with a yes.

  “This will allow us to use even more of the Jelnoid technology. For some reason the secret to these alloys was not addressed in their technical database,” said Andre.

  “Perhaps it was such common knowledge on their worlds they didn’t think it was necessary to include the data on the alloys,” suggested Professor Leon.

  Lisa looked around the room, full of research scientists and technicians. The lab was large and about forty people were working on different experiments. Lisa knew this was just one of many labs scattered throughout the complex.

  “Come with me, Lisa,” Professor Wilkens said as he finished what he was working on and checked the time on his watch. “I want you to meet some people.”

  -

  Professor Wilkens led the way out of the lab and down a long hallway to a bank of elevators. They took one, rising ten levels before the door opened. “I think you will find this interesting.” The professor opened a door and they stepped out onto a large balcony. It held several tables and chairs. However, even more interesting was what could be seen from the balcony. Lisa stood, spellbound, looking out across the large cavern that held the civilian complex.

  “It looks like a futuristic city,” Lisa sai
d in awe. She had seen a glimpse of it the day before during her briefing with Major Lorre. In front of her buildings towered above the cavern floor. Parks and even a few small lakes were visible.

  “We tried to build this so people could survive here for a very long time,” Wilkens explained. “If necessary we could stay here for decades and probably have no problem remaining hidden from the Trellixians.”

  “Are there other complexes like this one?” Lisa asked. She suspected there probably were since other countries were involved as well.

  Professor Wilkens nodded. “Yes, but I’m not at liberty to say more. Just know if somehow this complex was destroyed, the fight against the Trellixians would continue.”

  Lisa looked out over the city. There was no pollution and even though she could see vehicles moving about on the wide streets it was unusually quiet. “How many people are in this complex and the industrial one?”

  Wilkens looked a little surprised at the question. “The number is a little misleading because the labs and some other facilities aren’t considered to be part of the civilian complex. Including everyone in the underground facilities in what we call Complex One comprised of military, researchers, civilians and those working in the industrial complex, there are close to four hundred thousand people here. That also includes those we managed to evacuate from General Mitchell’s base before it was destroyed.”

  Lisa and Professor Wilkens stood for several minutes looking at the civilian complex. If only Lisa’s parents and Streth had been rescued there would be a real home here for her. As it was she still had the professor, Brenda, and Brett. In time she knew she would make other friends but it would be hard to forget the past. This complex hid the war and made it easy to ignore what was going on around the world.

  But Lisa was determined to never forget.

  -

  A little while later Professor Wilkens led Lisa along a richly carpeted hallway and came to a stop before a pair of twin doors. Lisa was surprised to see two heavily armed soldiers standing in front of the doors, barring their way. Upon seeing Professor Wilkens one of them moved aside and opened one of the doors, indicating for Lisa and the professor to enter.