Attack Plan Alpha (Blood on the Stars Book 16)

by Jay Allan

  There were over a thousand Marines just beyond the hatch a few meters from the coffin, all that could be crammed into Dauntless’s battered landing bay. More were gathered in the corridors and compartments beyond, watching on monitors and listening on comm units as the Corps bid farewell to its leader, and to its most beloved member.

  The losses in the battle had been almost beyond counting, and grief hung heavily over the grim satisfaction the survivors felt that they’d held, that they’d taken all the Highborn could throw at them and were still there. Even if it had cost them their very heart.

  “There’s going to have to be, Seb. Bryan was with me for twenty years, and I saw him rise from a dedicated captain, to a legend in the Corps. But he’s gone, now, and he would be the first to admonish us if we didn’t look first to the fight, to the future. He always told me, ‘Marines die, but never the Corps.’ That won’t be true if we lose this war. Bryan is one more reason we can’t let that happen. Filling his shoes will be difficult, but we can’t allow it to be impossible. There’s too much of a fight still ahead. And we owe him better.” Barron paused, looking down at the capsule that contained his lost friend. “Yes, we’re going to have to fill his shoes. You are going to have to fill them…General Carruthers.”

  The Marine colonel, no, now general, stared back with stunned surprise. “Admiral, I can’t…”

  “You can and you will. Because you have to. Because Bryan would have chosen you himself to succeed him, if he could have.”

  Barron extended his arm, handing a small box to Carruthers. If he’d lived, I have no doubt Bryan would have given you these himself. Wear them and honor his memory…by leading the Marines as he would have done.”

  Barron sucked in a ragged breath, exhausted from the constant struggle to hide his own pain at Rogan’s death. But as always, duty called, and it drove him forward, ever forward until the fight was finally over.

  If it is ever over…

  Troyus City

  “I’ll be just fine…and I don’t have time to sit here while you poke and prod me and perform fifty useless tests.” Gary Holsten stood up, and he reached for his clothes. He’d been in the hospital for twenty hours…and that had been twenty too many. There was nothing he could do about that now, especially as he’d been unconscious for eighteen of those. But he damned sure wasn’t going to sit there in bed while the Confederation burned down around him.

  He’d been disoriented when he’d first awakened, but then his memories flooded back, even as the doctor was updating him. Things were worse even than he’d remembered. The Senate was gone…the buildings, the monuments, every one of the politicians he’d spared with for so long. Gone.

  It had taken him some time to piece it all together. Then, it came to him. Ciara. He’d had her checked…she’d escaped from the Highborn, but she hadn’t worn the Collar the enemy used to control humans. He’d been suspicious of her, worried about what she might do, but he hadn’t imagined anything like this.

  The Highborn must have brainwashed her or controlled her some other way.

  But how?

  It didn’t make sense. He hadn’t trusted Ciara at all, but Confederation support had been her only hope of regaining her control over the Union. He was even more confused when he’d gotten the news that Ciara had been in the Senate Hall herself when the explosion took place.

  What had prompted her to make a suicide attack on the Senate?

  Holsten felt anger toward Flandry, toward the dead Speaker’s unwillingness to take his concerns seriously. Holsten hadn’t imagined anything like what had happened, but he wouldn’t have brought Ciara to Megara either if the Speaker hadn’t insisted.

  You paid the price for your foolishness, Emmit…

  Holsten had never much liked his ally of convenience, and he’d casually detested the rest of the Senate…but he felt sadness and rage at their deaths. It was a strike against the Confederation, at the very heart of its government. He’d hated the Highborn before, but now he despised them with a cold ferocity harder than anything he’d felt before.

  “Admiral Denisov?” Holsten had been with the Union admiral when the explosion occurred.

  “He was more seriously injured than you were, Mr. Holsten, but he will survive.” A pause. “I’m afraid it is out of the question for him to leave now, however.”

  Holsten just nodded, and then he mumbled, “Thanks, Doc…” He grabbed his coat—the remnants of his coat—and he walked down the hallway toward the elevators. His head was swimming. He had to see what was happening, to calm the panic likely to spread in the wake of the disaster. He had to get to the nets, take control of the broadcasts, try to calm the population. Then he had to see about the establishment of a new government.

  But first he had to get to his office. He had to get a message to Tyler Barron via the Pipe. He had to tell the admiral what had happened.

  He had to let his friend know they might be facing a growing crisis in the heart of the Confederation as well as on both its troubled borders.

  CFS Dauntless

  “This is real, Tyler. It is how the empire drove the Highborn away. The formula isn’t complete, but it is close. We’ll get there. We’ll put the pieces together, and then…”

  “And then we’ll commit genocide? Use a biological weapon to infect the Highborn, to kill them all?”

  “Yes.” Andi’s answer was simple, and the certainty in her tone chilled Tyler’s blood.

  “So simple? Just obliterate an entire race of beings?” Barron was a wreck, he knew that. The battle, the loss of so many friends and comrades, the certainty that all his people had bought with their sacrifice was a little time…they all wore on him. But he had begun to wonder what his people would have to become—what he would have to become—to win this war. The rage was there, of course, the uncontrolled fury, and it took all he had to keep it bottled up, under control. And now, Andi was urging him to open the gates, to release the monster, the very worst of himself, unconstrained by any bounds of civilization.

  “Yes, it is that simple. The Highborn are creatures that should never have been created. They are monstrosities, unnatural beasts with no place in the universe. Destroying them will be a cleansing, the righting of an old wrong. But aside from that, these miserable things have killed too many of our people. Vig, Bryan…Ilius…and all those before them. And Sonya Eaton, lying in a medpod, in a coma from which she may never awaken. That must stop, and the only way to ensure these would be gods can’t hurt us anymore is to wipe them from the fiber of the universe. To send them to the deepest and darkest hell imaginable. To erase them, profoundly and utterly.”

  Barron understood how Andi felt, and he even shared much of it. But he couldn’t get past the implications of what she was advocating. Not even the Union had employed biological weapons, not in any significant way…and now he was supposed to lead the effort to infect the Highborn with a virus, a malicious and cleverly designed one that would lay hidden for months to enhance contagion, to spread the coming death as widely as possible.

  The files Andi had found were not entirely complete regarding the synthesis process, but they were quite clear about the effects of infection. The virus attacked the modified DNA of the Highborn, tearing their cells apart from the inside, with pain he was sure he couldn’t even imagine.

  He’d been destined for military service from birth. He’d excelled at the Academy and risen to the highest levels in his beloved navy. For all the death, all the suffering and torment, all the desperate, endless fighting, he’d always considered himself to be an honorable warrior.

  Now, he was expected to set all that aside…and to become a mass murderer, soaked in the blood of an entire race.

  He looked up at Andi, his mind drifting, seeking for some way to share his doubts with her, his concerns. But her expression was cold, hard. There was no pity in her, none at all. He knew she wouldn’t listen, that she couldn’t listen. She had no hesitancy, no doubts about unleashing any nightmare she could on
the Highborn. He loved her desperately, but at that moment, she scared him, too. He’d fought all his adult life, inflicted enormous casualties on his enemies, and lost more friends and comrades than he could count. But he wasn’t prepared to openly embrace genocide…and it terrified him to see how ready Andi was to do just that.

  Blood on the Stars Will Continue with

  Descent into Darkness

  Book 17

  Appendix

  CFS Excalibur-Class Superbattleship

  The Excalibur is the first Confederation ship class to fully employ a combination of its own newest technology with that of the Hegemony, provided per the terms of the Pact. It was designed at a rapid pace in response to the dire situation on the front, and the Excalibur itself, the first, and to date only, vessel of the class to launch, was constructed at the Kirovsky Shipyards, orbiting the Iron Belt planet Belgravia.

  The Excalibur is more than twice the size of Repulse-class battleships such as Dauntless, and the vessel carries a massive arsenal of weaponry and defensive system, much of them representing major leaps forward in Confederation technology.

  Offensive Array

  1 – Spinal mount antimatter-powered hyper-velocity railgun, launching 120kg projectiles.

  4 – Quad 10 gigawatt Confederation “primary beam” particle accelerators (16 guns in total).

  40 – Omega fourth generation 2 gigawatt laser cannons.

  20 – Ground bombardment pulse cannons.

  10 – Plasma mine launchers (1,000 mines held in magazine).

  Defensive Array

  60 – 200 megawatt point defense lasers in double turret mounts.

  20 – Blast gun anti-fighter pellet launchers (developed from railgun technology).

  4 – Deflector screen projection systems (designed to warp and distort incoming energy weapons fire).

  Small Craft Contingents

  180 – Lightning III (“Black Lightning”) assault fighter-bombers (12 squadrons, 2 assault wings).

  30 – Attack Wave (“Ironfist”) heavy bombers (crew of 6).

  20 – Heavy assault shuttles (capacity 20 Marines).

  20 – Standard Fleet shuttles.

  2 – Admiralty-3A class fleet command cutters.

  Power Generation

  Dual (“Confed-1.0”) antimatter reactor system.

  12 – 15 gigawatt fusion reactors.

  Complement

  Primary ship crew – 1,620

  Fighter-bomber pilot and flight crews – 960

  Marine contingent – 840

  Admiral’s command staff – 40

  Total – 3460

  Initial Ships of Class: Excalibur, Constellation, Starfire, Argo

  The Pact

  The Pact is the document forming an Alliance between the Hegemony, the Confederation, the Palatian Alliance, and nine separate Far Rim nation states. The ratification of the agreement faced significant opposition by both the Confederation Senate and the Hegemonic Council. The Senate was wary of the economic burdens it would impose and the requirements it held for the Confederation to commit he vast bulk of its armed forces to the Hegemony front. The Hegemonic Council objected to the provisions requiring full sharing of all science and technical data, an obligation that flowed almost entirely in one direction as a result of the Hegemony’s generally greater tech levels.

  The name came to refer to the alliance itself, though such usage was not specified in the document and was entirely colloquial.

  Strata of the Hegemony

  The Hegemony is an interstellar polity located far closer to the center of what had once been the old empire than Rimward nations such as the Confederation. The Rim nations and the Hegemony were unaware of each other’s existence until the White Fleet arrived at Planet Zero and established contact.

  Relatively little is known of the Hegemony, save that their technology appears to be significantly more advanced than the Confederation’s in most areas, though still behind that of the old empire.

  The culture of the Hegemony is based almost exclusively on genetics, with an individual’s status being entirely dependent on an established method of evaluating genetic “quality.” Generations of selective breeding have produced a caste of “Masters,” who occupy an elite position above all others. There are several descending tiers below the Master class, all of which are categorized as “Inferiors.”

  The Hegemony’s culture likely developed as a result of its location much closer to the center of hostilities during the Cataclysm. Many surviving inhabitants of the inward systems suffered from horrific mutations and damage to genetic materials, placing a premium on any bloodlines lacking such effects.

  The Rimward nations find the Hegemony’s society to be almost alien in nature, while its rulers consider the inhabitants of the Confederation and other nations to be just another strain of Inferiors, fit only to obey their commands without question.

  Masters

  The Masters are the descendants of those few humans spared genetic damage from the nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare that destroyed the old empire during the series of events known as the Cataclysm. The Masters sit at the top of the Hegemony’s societal structure and, in a sense, are its only true full members or citizens.

  The Masters’ culture is based almost entirely on what they call “genetic purity and quality,” and even their leadership and ranking structure is structured solely on genetic rankings. Every master is assigned a number based on his or her place in a population-wide chromosomal analysis. An individual’s designation is thus subject to change once per year, to adjust for masters dying and for new adults being added into the database. The top ten thousand individuals in each year’s ratings are referred to as “High Masters,” and they are paired for breeding matchups far more frequently than the larger number of lower-rated Masters.

  Masters reproduce by natural means, through strict genetic pairings based on an extensive study of ideal matches. The central goal of Master society is to steadily improve the human race by breeding the most perfect specimens available and relegating all others to a subservient status. The Masters consider any genetic manipulation or artificial processes like cloning to be grievously sinful, and all such practices are banned in the Hegemony on pain of death to all involved. This belief structure traces from the experiences of the Cataclysm, and the terrible damage inflicted on the populations of imperial worlds by genetically-engineered pathogens and cloned and genetically-engineered soldiers.

  All humans not designated as Masters are referred to as Inferiors, and they serve the Masters in various capacities. All Masters have the power of life and death over Inferiors. It is not a crime for a Master to kill an Inferior who has injured or offended that Master in any way.

  Kriegeri

  The Kriegeri are the Hegemony’s soldiers. They are drawn from the strongest and most physically capable specimens of the populations of Inferiors on Hegemony worlds. Kriegeri are not genetically-modified, though in most cases, Master supervisors enforce specific breeding arrangements in selected population groups to increase the quality of future generations of Kriegeri stock.

  The Kriegeri are trained from infancy to serve as the Hegemony’s soldiers and spaceship crews, and are divided in two categories, red and gray, named for the colors of their uniforms. The “red” Kriegeri serve aboard the Hegemony’s ships, under the command of a small number of Master officers. They are surgically modified to increase their resistance to radiation and zero gravity.

  The “gray” Kriegeri are the Hegemony’s ground soldiers. They are selected from large and physically powerful specimens and are subject to extensive surgical enhancements to increase strength, endurance, and dexterity. They also receive significant artificial implants, including many components of their armor, which becomes a permanent partial exoskeleton of sorts. They are trained and conditioned from childhood to obey orders and to fight. The top several percent of Kriegeri surviving twenty years of service are retired to breeding colonies. Their offsprin
g are Krieger-Edel, a pool of elite specimens serving as mid-level officers and filling a command role between the ruling Masters and the rank and file Kriegeri.

  Arbeiter

  Arbeiter are the workers and laborers of the Hegemony. They are drawn from populations on the Hegemony’s many worlds, and typically either exhibit some level of genetic damage inherited from the original survivors or simply lack genetic ratings sufficient for Master status. Arbeiter are from the same general group as the Kriegeri, though the soldier class includes the very best candidates, and the Arbeiter pool consists of the remnants.

  Arbeiter are assigned roles in the Hegemony based on rigid assessments of their genetic status and ability. These positions range from supervisory posts in production facilities and similar establishments to pure physical labor, often working in difficult and hazardous conditions.

  Defekts

  Defekts are individuals—often populations of entire worlds—exhibiting severe genetic damage. They are typically found on planets that suffered the most extensive bombardments and bacteriological attacks during the Cataclysm.

  Defekts have no legal standing in the Hegemony, and they are considered completely expendable. On worlds inhabited by populations of Masters, Kriegeri, and Arbeiters, Defekts are typically assigned to the lowest level, most dangerous labor, and any excess populations are exterminated.

  The largest number of Defekts exist on planets on the fringes of Hegemony space, where they are often used for such purposes as mining radioactives and other similarly dangerous operations. Often, the Defekts themselves have no knowledge at all of the Hegemony and regard the Masters as gods or demigods descending from the heavens. On such planets, the Masters often demand ores and other raw materials as offerings, and severely punish any failures or shortfalls. Pliant and obedient populations are provided with rough clothing and low-quality manufactured foodstuffs, enabling them to devote nearly all labor to the gathering of whatever material the Masters demand. Resistant population groups are exterminated, as, frequently, are Defekt populations on worlds without useful resources to exploit.