“I nearly did,” Jennifer answered. “The aliens hit the hospital I was working in and a number of us hid in the basement. Afterward much of the building was destroyed and it took us days to dig ourselves out. Once we did we decided to stay there. The basement had food, medical supplies, water, and a battery power source.”
“After several weeks we noticed the alien patrols had pretty much disappeared. We figured they had killed everyone else and moved on. We took some vehicles from the underground parking garage and headed for the mountains. We only traveled at night and stayed hidden during the daylight hours. Eventually we made it to the Rockies and found some soldiers escorting civilians to safe zones. We spent nearly two weeks in one of those huge tunnels the military built. A few days ago a private approached me and asked me if I was your sister. When I said yes, I was brought here. Up until that time I didn’t know if you were alive or dead. I guess we both got lucky.”
Mark nodded. “What about Mom and Dad? Have you heard anything about them?”
“Not much,” replied Jennifer with a sad look in her eyes. “I spoke to Dad two days before the Trellixians attacked. They were going to spend a few days in the country at Aunt Martha’s. I don’t know if they made it there or not.”
Mark let out a deep sigh. Aunt Martha was his mother’s sister. She lived on a small farm northwest of Houston. Someday Mark would have to make it a point to go there and see if he could discover what happened to their parents. “What are your plans now?” asked Mark. He wanted to make sure he stayed in touch with Jennifer.
“I’m staying here to work at one of the medical centers.”
Mark was greatly relieved to hear this. At least his sister was safe and she would continue to be so here inside the complex. “Let’s get something to eat and talk some more. I’ve got a hundred questions to ask.”
“Me too,” replied Jennifer with a big grin. “And I’m starving!”
Mark had to smile. His sister always seemed to be hungry. At home she was always snacking. It amazed him that she managed to keep the weight off. For the first time in several months he almost felt normal again.
-
Lisa, Brenda and Brett stood in front of one of the three-dimensional printers, watching as it created a new pulse rifle. The machine hummed quietly, and through a small viewing port the pulse rifle slowly took shape.
“From what Adam Maher told me these are partially based on Jelnoid technology. These new printers can make parts out of every type of plastic, metal, and different alloys,” Brett said as a partially completed pulse rifle slid out on the conveyor belt where a technician checked it and then sent it on to the next station so an energy cell would be installed. Later the rifle would be test-fired to ensure it met the rigorous quality standards being enforced.
Brenda looked around. “A lot of automation is involved here. I was expecting to see more people.”
“A number of control rooms keep an eye on everything,” Lisa replied. Professor Wilkens had spent some time speaking to her about the different production processes in the construction and manufacturing facility. He had even taken the time to show her some of it.
“Have you been inside the spaceships yet?” asked Brett, his eyes lighting up.
Lisa shook her head. “No, not yet. I was afraid I’d just get in the way.”
“You won’t,” Brett replied. “I was taken on a tour by one of the ship officers. I guess the word’s out that we’ll be science officers eventually. The interiors are nearly complete. They still need to install the weapons and work on the power systems but they’re making great progress.”
Lisa looked at Brenda. “I guess you and I should go see them. I have to admit I’ve been curious.”
“Spaceships,” said Brenda, her eyes wistful. “I never would have imagined Earth would have its own space fleet.”
“It’s not there yet,” Brett reminded her, “but it’s well on its way.”
Lisa watched as another pulse rifle exited the three-dimensional printer. It frightened her some as she realized all she needed to learn. The advent of Jelnoid technology made a lot of her knowledge superfluous. This was like going to college again only this would be a crash course. She was just thankful Brenda and Brett would be here with her.
“I’ve seen enough for now,” Lisa said. “Let’s find someplace to eat and then watch some of the videos they made of Strold. I’m curious to see what a Jelnoid looks like.”
“Hopefully he’s not an overgrown lizard like the Trellixians,” commented Brett. “Let’s see if we can find a place that serves steaks. I haven’t had what I consider a real meal since all of this started.”
Lisa nodded. She had eaten enough MREs to last a lifetime. “I heard there are a number of nice restaurants in the civilian complex.”
Brett grinned. “Let’s go find one.”
They left the manufacturing complex, heading toward the civilian one. Lisa was pleased to have Brenda and Brett at her side. With the two of them helping her Lisa felt there wasn’t anything they couldn’t do. For the first time in a long while Lisa had high hopes for the future.
Chapter Twenty
Major Dolan returned to his base and was pleased to discover there had been no Trellixian activity since his departure. He had one hundred of the new pulse rifles with him and a promise from Colonel Branson to send more as soon as possible. The Trellixians had to be kept out of the mountains at all costs. Mark spent nearly a full day at the base going over reports and then left to inspect the skirmish line. He and Sergeant Anderson took an ATV loaded with the pulse rifles. Privates Peterson and Hambridge accompanied them on another ATV similarly loaded.
Once at the primary base camp behind the skirmish line, Mark called in his company commanders for a meeting and to discuss distribution of the new weapons.
“It’s been quiet,” reported Captain Garcia. “We’ve got our Rangers, the two Army companies and the Marines dug in along the defensive line, plus we’ve added some heavier weapons. We have fourteen MK47 grenade launchers set up and we’ve doubled the number of mortar pits. The entire area out to one thousand yards from our skirmish line is covered in claymores along all trails and possible areas of approach. We’ve also added more M240L machine guns with armor-piercing rounds.”
Mark looked at the map where everything was marked. “We brought some special weapons back with us.” Mark pointed toward Sergeant Anderson and Privates Peterson and Hambridge. All carried one of the new pulse rifles. “Sergeant, would you demonstrate our new rifle?”
Anderson grinned. He had exchanged his shotgun readily for one of the new rifles. “With pleasure, sir,” he answered. Anderson pointed toward a small boulder about two hundred yards distant. “Peterson, you’re supposed to be a good shot. Think you can hit that boulder?”
Peterson grinned. “No problem, Sergeant.” Peterson took careful aim and pulled the trigger. A beam of white energy shot from the rifle, striking the boulder dead center and blowing it apart.
“An energy rifle!” exclaimed Captain Stockton, his eyes opening wide in amazement. “Did we build these?”
“Yes, we did,” Mark answered. “We brought one hundred of them back with us. Sergeant Anderson will take ten with him along with a squad of Rangers to shore up defenses in the next valley. We’ll also give Lieutenant Stein and Sergeant Tucker two MK47 grenade launchers.”
Captain Garcia frowned. “That’ll be a lot of weight to carry over the mountain.”
“We’ll send two squads when we take the grenade launchers and the rifles,” explained Mark. “One squad will return and the other will stay there for the time being.”
“How soon?” asked Captain Garcia. “There hasn’t been any signs of the aliens but they could show up at any time.”
“Day after tomorrow,” answered Mark. “I want the civilians in that valley protected and these weapons will help. Besides, we have time. Satellite imagery shows the Trellixians have pulled back and are regrouping. We don’t expect another attack
for several weeks.”
“Will we get any more troops to put on our line?” asked Captain Morrison, in charge of one of the Marine companies. “We lost a lot of people at the creek.”
Mark nodded. “We have two more full companies of regular Army troops coming to us. They should be here in a couple of days. We’ll use them to fill in any holes in our defenses.”
“We’ve heard rumors the Trellixians destroyed one of our primary bases back in the mountains,” said Captain Grumman worriedly. “Any truth to that?”
Mark saw the look of concern on all the captains’ faces. So far there had been little good news to report in this war. “It’s true, though many of the base personnel escaped. We’re hoping these new weapons, and there are more coming, will turn the tide. The Trellixians also lost a lot of their soldiers and even some of their hover tanks in that battle. We feel confident it will take them several weeks to recover sufficiently to launch more attacks. When they do we want to be ready for them.”
Captain Smith picked up one of the energy rifles from a crate sitting near him. “Will these penetrate the armor a Trellixian soldier wears?”
“Yes,” Mark replied. “It will cut right through it.”
Captain Smith grinned. “Then let’s get these passed out. We need to give them to our best shots.” Smith turned toward Captain Morrison with a tilt of his head. “You got anyone in your Marines who can hit a target?”
Morrison nodded. “Yes, several.”
“Then let’s get these weapons handed out. Sergeant Anderson, you and Privates Peterson and Hambridge will be responsible for training everyone to use the pulse rifles. Spread them out along our entire line.”
“We’ll get it done,” Anderson promised.
“Then let’s get to it, people,” ordered Mark. “When the Trellixians return I want to make it seem as if they’ve run into a buzz saw. We’ll kill them all!” Mark was pleased with the enthusiasm the new weapons generated among the captains. He hoped it would be passed on to the others along the skirmish line.
-
Two days later Sergeant Anderson arrived in the next valley and was met by Lieutenant Stein and Sergeant Tucker. “We brought you some new toys,” announced Anderson, gesturing for his Rangers to set everything down. “We brought two MK47 grenade launchers and some pulse rifles.”
“Pulse rifles?” said Sergeant Tucker, stepping forward to look at the rifle in Private Peterson’s hands. “What does it do?”
“It fires an energy beam that can penetrate Trellixian battle armor.”
Tucker looked surprised. “Where the hell did this come from?”
“It’s classified,” Anderson replied. “I’ll leave a squad of Rangers with you as well if that’s okay. Corporal Bowing will be in charge of them and they will answer to both of you as well. I have orders from Major Dolan to help beef up your defenses near the entrance to this valley while I have the squads here. Once we’re finished I’ll take one squad and go back. There may be other weapons we bring you in the near future.”
“We appreciate the help, Sergeant,” Lieutenant Stein replied.
Sergeant Anderson looked around, seeing three wind generators at work. All had been painted to blend in with the surroundings. A large room had been added to the back of the cabin and two other cabins were under construction. “I see you’ve made some additions,” Anderson said.
“Mainly for the children,” Sergeant Tucker replied. “The large room behind the cabin is a place where they can be taught as well as for entertainment. One of the new cabins we’re building will be for our medics to treat anyone who falls sick or gets injured. Both of the new cabins will be heated for the winter.”
“Are you Army Rangers?” asked a young woman walking up to them with a small boy following along.
“Yes, we are.”
“This is my wife, Lacy and my son, Matt,” Sergeant Tucker said, introducing them.
“Will you be staying for supper? We killed an elk a few days ago so we have fresh meat.”
“They may be staying for several days,” Tucker said. “They’ve brought some weapons to help us defend the valley.”
Lacy frowned. “More weapons. I understand we need them. I just wish they weren’t necessary.”
“We all wish that,” Sergeant Anderson replied.
-
In orbit, Battle Commander Balforr gazed at the main viewscreen in frustration. The High Command had been pleased that he’d destroyed the main base of this world’s military, especially after they learned of the development of Jelnoid weapons. However, the High Command was disappointed colonization could not begin immediately. They had stressed that if colonization did not begin soon, it would be a mark against Balforr’s record.
“How long until Battle Commander Traven and Jabale are ready to resume exterminating the civilians?”
“Three weeks,” Second Officer Jaltor reported. “They lost nearly 42 percent of their soldiers and 63 percent of their hover tanks in the battle, many when we detonated the Malken missile. They are still very displeased about that.”
“They have other units scattered across the planet,” said Balforr. “Why can’t they use those?” Balforr knew there were several hundred thousand Trellixian soldiers who had not been involved in the battle.
Jaltor hesitated and then answered. “They have soldiers and hover tanks deployed to hold areas of the planet cleared of Humans. If they pull out those soldiers or tanks they fear small units of Human soldiers will return, seeking supplies. This way they deny them those supplies and hold on to the areas of the planet which have been cleansed of Humans.”
Battle Commander Balforr was tempted to order Traven and Jabale to attack anyway; however, he was well aware the two were better commanders of ground forces than he was. Balforr was a fleet commander and not used to commanding a sustained ground conflict. He’d probably made an error in the previous battle at the Human base by taking personal command but he had accomplished his goal in destroying the base.
“Battle Commander Traven says in three weeks they can launch a full-scale assault on the mountainous areas in the United States. Once those have been cleared of Humans, they will move their soldiers to other areas of this world where large concentrations of Humans are believed to be in hiding.”
Balforr was not pleased with this. He had been planning on two weeks. “Tell Battle Commander Traven he and Jabale have three weeks but no more. Then all the mountainous regions across this planet are to be attacked. After that I want this entire world cleansed of these Humans. I’ll be contacting the High Command tomorrow and will inform them that in four weeks we will be ready for a large colonization fleet. If we’re not, Battle Commander Traven and Battle Commander Jabale will have to answer to the High Command.”
“I will send the message,” Jaltor replied as he turned and hurried away.
Looking once more at the viewscreen, Battle Commander Balforr grew impatient to be through with this world. Already other battle commanders were reporting new worlds being conquered. Glancing at the tactical display, Balforr could see his battlecruisers in orbit around the planet. Even his ship commanders were showing signs of impatience.
-
Sergeant Anderson inspected the additions made to the defenses at the mouth of the canyon leading into the valley. The entire canyon was covered by claymores which had been brought over by the Rangers a few weeks back. They now had six M240L machine guns as well as the two MK47 grenade launchers. Thick barricades of wood and dirt protected the machine guns as well as formed a protective covering over them. The same was done for the MK47s. From the air there would be no signs of the defenses. The Rangers with the help of some of Lieutenant Stein’s soldiers had dug proper rifle-firing pits for the soldiers using the ten pulse rifles. Six of them would stay with the Rangers while four more were going to soldiers Lieutenant Stein felt were very good marksmen.
“We should be able to hold them,” said Stein, looking at the added defenses. “My only concer
n will be if they use a shuttle to land troops behind us or use their attack craft against us.”
“If we can get by a few more weeks without being attacked, Major Dolan says we’ll have a large pulse cannon mounted on a tripod which can take down Trellixian vessels. As soon as they’re available I’ll bring a couple over here.”
Stein nodded. “Winter will be upon us soon. It’s getting near freezing every morning. We’ve already had a few light dustings of snow. These mountains will be nearly impassable soon.”
“It’ll get cold this year,” said Sergeant Anderson, looking up at the sky. It rained a lot in the mountains and he was concerned the snowfall this year would be far greater than normal. “With less sunlight from the Trellixian bombardment it may get ten to twenty degrees colder than what we’re used to.”
“We have a couple diesel generators we can use to power the heaters for the tents if necessary,” Stein said. “We siphoned some of the diesel from the trucks and stored it in fifty-gallon barrels in the shed.”
Sergeant Anderson nodded. He wasn’t looking forward to spending the winter in the mountains in a rifle-firing pit. He had already decided when he got back to the skirmish line he would do more work on his firing pit. Enough branches and pine needles lay around so he could put a roof over it. At least that would help keep out the snow.
-
Sometime later Sergeant Tucker sat at one of the camp tables with his wife and son, eating their evening meal. Several large tarps had been put up to help protect the tables from the elements. Ten tables were beneath the tarps with an opening on one side. It helped block the wind and kept the rain and what little snow they had so far off the tables, giving everyone a relatively comfortable place to eat. Lacy wore a heavy sweater and three-year-old Matt had on a light jacket.
“I wish we could build bigger fires,” Lacy said, shivering slightly. “Fireplaces in the cabins and the new room would have been nice.”
Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One) Page 28