by Saxon Andrew
“But they won’t all be in the center,” Tej thought.
“No but huge numbers of them will be and if we do this two days after an attack, they’ll scatter again and be back in the center the next day…if that is how they’re programmed. We’ll reduce the time between our attacks to three days.”
Roger thought, “So, you think we should lower the fins and allow them to detect our scouts.”
“I do. We should also activate our force fields to make sure they detect us.”
“Well, let’s give it a go,” Tommy replied. Spread out and we’ll enter the filament they’re on together. It’s worth trying.”
The scouts ignited their boosters and moved across the filament to the reverse flow. Tommy thought to Gloria, “Just how are we going to move through hundreds of thousands of evading probes to move ahead of them?”
“We’ll go back into the reverse flow and use our boosters combined with our thrusters. Once we clear the leading edge, we move back into the other side and accelerate ahead and set up an attack.”
Tommy tilted his head, “The flow of that filament is huge. I’m not at all certain that we’ll make any headway.”
“I know; but we will make some forward progress. We should at the very least stay even with them. Once the probes leave the outer edges to move back into the center, we can activate the fins, move back into the filament, and move ahead of them to set up.”
Tommy shrugged and hoped Gloria was right.
Chapter Twenty-one
Gregor stared at his command unit and saw the last archer reported in. He pressed a button on his unit and said, “On my command, take them down and all warriors are free to hit targets of opportunity.” Gregor paused as he pulled up an aerial view of the forest from a scout holding position high overhead. He stared at the image and said, “Open fire,” in a calm voice.
Two-thousand archers, who had moved through the trees until they were directly above the Tronan Mobile Blasters, fired a small-explosive tipped arrow and immediately fled through the tree tops on their Dragons. Every one of the Tronan Heavy Blasters had their huge blaster barrels hit by an arrow causing them to exploded and break in half. Small fires started when some of them rolled off the huge armored platforms and hit the ground. The Tronan Warriors dug in around the blasters immediately put the fires out and searched the surrounding terrane for who fired on them. The arrows traveled so fast they weren’t seen by the Tronan forces. It was several minutes after the attack that they turned their scanners into the trees but the archers were long gone. The Dragons carrying them were incredibly agile and fast moving in the thick canopy.
• • •
Anderson McGregor went into the tall grass and motioned his eight-hundred Bellingham Warriors to follow. They moved silently through the underbrush toward the rear of the dug-in Tronan Warriors. They arrived fifty-yards behind them and he pulled an arrow out of his quiver. The other members of his unit followed his example and he gave them a hand-signal to be ready. He glanced to his left and right and saw other Bellingham units notching arrows. He looked up into the trees and didn’t see anything but knew the Dragons were there. Their colored hides of varied shades of green made them impossible to see. Anderson waited and stared over the top of the underbrush.
Gregor smiled and looked at Kel, “Start the fire.”
• • •
The Tronan Forces were spread out on a six-mile front facing toward the Bandasar City. Four-thousand Venzel Dragons were spread out in the treetops behind them waiting for the order to open fire. Kel had been watching their silent advance on his small claw-held monitor and pressed a button when Gregor gave the order. Four-thousand blaster beams lanced down out of the trees setting fire to the dry underbrush. The flames roared into the dug-in Tronan forces and many of them jumped up and started running. The Tronan Senior Warrior yelled, “HOLD YOUR POSITIONS! YOUR ARMOR WILL PROTECT YOU FROM THE FIRE!”
The Tronan Warriors who jumped up turned back toward their positions…but most of them didn’t make it back.
• • •
Anderson McGregor went to a knee and fired an arrow at a fleeing Tronan Warrior. He had another arrow notched and fired before the first arrow hit. The small explosive charge in the arrow’s silver metal head blew into the Tronan’s armor and blasted their bodies apart. Of the ten-thousand Tronan Warriors that instinctively jumped up to flee the oncoming flames, only fourteen hundred made it back to their former positions. As the flames roared through the Tronan positions, it exposed them to the Dragons in the overhead trees.
• • •
Gregory had tried to develop a dart-gun that could be used by the Dragons and Bellingham Warriors. It was quickly discovered that a weapon that could carry a large magazine of darts along with the gas-pressure chambers to fire them could not be made small enough for humans to carry. Either the magazine or gas chamber would have to be smaller, either of which would make the weapon ineffective for a long fight. They opted to develop a dart-gun for the Venzel Dragons. What they came up with exceeded their expectations. The final product weighted eight-hundred and twenty pounds but the four-thousand pound twenty-foot long Dragons handled them easily. The high-pressure chambers produced an incredible recoil but the barrels barely moved when the Dragons fired them. The optical sights were huge and accurate to within two inches at four-hundred yards.
The Dragons opened fire when the Bellingham Warriors fired their first volley of arrows and the Tronan forces were unable to see where their attackers were located. It took a few seconds for their commanders to order them to fire into the forest outside their lines…those seconds proved to be their undoing.
Before the Bellingham and Dragon Warriors were moved to Bandasar, Gregor had the thirty-thousand gather in the clearing on Bellingham before boarding their transports. They were silent as he stood on the log next to the fire in the clearing and said over the communicator in his helmet, “I’ve examined the planet we’re going to defend and it’s my belief that at one of the sites the Tronan attack, they will move into the forest next to the city to escape the blasters we have in the city. It’s what I would do if I were in their place. Intelligence believes that we’ll be facing about thirty-thousand of their highly-trained warriors at three cities. They will outnumber us three to one.”
Gregor paused and said, “I will be commanding the forces that will fight them in the forest. The rest of you will have to take them on in the cities. For those of you assigned to my units, we must hit them hard and then move in and fight them hand-to-hand. Your armor can only withstand three hits from their blasters and if we try to move in from a distance, they’ll overwhelm us with their combined fire power. We’re going to move in close, fire on them, and then rush their lines.”
Gregor was silent for a moment and Anderson McGregor asked over the frequency, “Does that mean each of us will have to kill three of them”
Gregor smiled at Andy, “I hope not. However, the Dragons will be in the trees using their dart-guns to reduce the numbers on the ground. Those of you on the ground will have to take on five or six of them initially.”
The gathering was silent until Andy said, “Is that all?”
Gregor stared at him and then started laughing. He tried to speak but couldn’t. He laughed even harder and soon, the entire gathering joined him.
Andy stared at them and finally said, “Hey, it’s going to be easier than those of you fighting in the cities. No one is better in the forests than Dragons and Bellingham Warriors.”
Gregor caught his breath and nodded. He said in a serious tone, “You’re right. Just know from the start that when you’re ordered in, you cannot hesitate. You can’t allow them to get organized and concentrate their fire into our ranks.”
• • •
Andy saw the last of the Tronan Warriors disappear below the flames and yelled over his communicator, “NOW!!” The six-thousand Bellingham Warriors rose to their feet and ran at the Tronan lines.
Andy rushed into the Tronan line with his sword drawn and cut one Tronan in half and took the head off the one dug in with him. He spun to the left as two blaster beams ripped through the space he just vacated. He was on the two-Tronan that fired at him in an instant and they died faster than the first two.
He saw the warrior to his left suddenly collapse as three blaster beams hit him. He lept over the beams as they moved toward him and landed to the side of the three Tronan firing at him. He rolled to the right and cut off the arm of one of the Tronan holding a blaster and swept his sword at the legs of the other two. They collapsed to the ground as another Bellingham Warrior arrived and finished them. He jumped to his feet and saw six Tronan to his right turn and point their blasters toward him. He knew there was no way to avoid being hit but, suddenly, all six of them jerked and fell to the ground. Thank the Creator for the Dragons and their dart-guns. He turned to his right and began moving down the line of Tronan Warriors moving out of their holes.
• • •
Kel said somberly, “It’s a good thing the trees on this planet are resistant to fire.”
Gregor nodded, “I’m sure they’ve evolved to withstand brush fires. All the others would have been burned to the ground from lightning strikes. I’m surprised at how sturdy they are.”
Kel smiled, “It comes from being fire resistant. The outer bark is thick and heavy.”
Gregor sighed, “I wish I was down there with my warriors.”
“Tell me about it but we have our orders. Command requires responsibility.” Gregor nodded and saw that the Tronan were killing large numbers of his troops. He sighed and almost disobeyed his orders. He could make a difference…but he forced himself to remain and watch the fight on his battle-monitor.
• • •
The Senior Warrior ordered the two-thousand Tronan Mobile Blasters to move out of the edge of the forest, then turn, and move into the fight taking place in the trees. Their main blasters were disabled but they had ten small blasters on their turrets for self-defense. They rolled out of the forest’s edge and started their turns when hundreds of them exploded.
The Bellingham Mobile Blasters left their positions when the barrels on the Tronan Vehicles were disabled. The sound of the massive explosions ripped through the forest shaking the trees and ground. The Senior Warrior watched as his forces were being annihilated and he lifted his communicator to order his forces to fall back and concentrate their fire. Suddenly, a large being was in front of him swinging a sword, of all things. He never made the order.
Three hours later, the last of the fleeting Tronan Warriors were chased down and eliminated. Gregor looked up and pressed his communicator, “Commodore Allen, are you able to pick us up?”
“I am.”
“I’ll move my forces out of the forest and await your arrival.”
“On my way. I’ll be on the surface in twenty-minutes.”
Gregor pressed his communicator, “Kaylee, do you need assistance?”
“No, we are holding our own.”
“Are you sure!?!”
“I am. Jek can use some assistance in the first city. The Tronan are starting to collapse all the buildings around them to keep our forces away. That’s where you need to go.”
Gregor nodded and pulled up the images from the largest city on Bandasar. He shook his head and looked at Kel, “Get your Dragons moving.” Kel nodded and lifted his communicator.
• • •
Gregor moved out of the forest and Anderson McGregor walked over and said, “Gregor, I have a question.”
“What is that?”
“Why did we have to fight them?”
Gregor’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not sure what ye mean.”
“Could we have not hit them from space or used our scouts to take them out?”
Gregor sighed, “I considered that, Andy. But we must learn how to take them on. What happens when they have warships in orbit and we’re unable to fire on them? Will we burn all the forests on a planet to remove them? Their next invasion will be beyond anything ye can imagine. Hundreds or even thousands of planets will be invaded and do ye want to learn how to fight them then?”
Anderson shook his head, “No, I suppose not. We lost more than a thousand warriors, Gregor.”
“If ye should do this again, will you lose as many?”
Anderson stared at him and finally shook his head, “No.”
“What will you do different next time?” Gregor asked.
“We’ll charge half our forces with swords and the other half will fire arrows into their ranks.”
Gregor nodded and put his hand on Anderson’s shoulder, “Their deaths will save far more in the future.”
“We’re leaving their bodies behind, Gregor.”
“Only for a short time. We will come back and take them home where they can be honored.” Anderson nodded and walked away to join his unit. Gregor shook his head; the killing wasn’t over…yet. He heard a loud roar and saw the giant Earth Transport dropping out of the sky. The mobile blasters moved forward and prepared to enter first. The warriors wouldn’t take as long to board and head back into war.
• • •
Gregor went to the bridge of the transport and Glenda looked away from her wall monitor, “It appears the Tronan Commander has blasted all the buildings within a mile of his forces and have consolidated them so they can fire at anything they detect.” Gregor looked up at the image on the monitor and wondered how many had died when they blasted the buildings. “Why don’t you just hit them from orbit Ground Commander?”
“The Leadership Team decided that we have to learn how to take them out without orbital bombardment.”
“Why?”
“Because our fleets will have all they can handle with the number of warships they’ll be bringing in the next invasion. We may not have space superiority next time.”
“But you do this time, Commander.”
“I know.”
“It seems to me that when you have an advantage, you should use it,” Glenda suggested. “If they have warships overhead, how will you be able to attack them?”
“We won’t.”
Glenda’s head went back, “What?”
“We’ll have to allow them to live to prevent the Tronan from nuking the city. We don’t believe they will kill their own forces.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Gregor looked away from the monitor and shrugged, “We wouldn’t.”
“We aren’t them. They appear to be pretty blood-thirsty to me and they have far more warriors than we could ever match.”
Gregor stared at her and lifted his communicator. A few minutes later, Pletal appeared, “Pletal, I know you’ve recorded a lot of recordings of the Tronan attacking civilized planets. Do you have any recordings of them nuking a city where they landed forces?”
“I need to look at the data and I’ll have to get back to you.”
“Do it quickly, I’m about to commit more forces.”
The Transport lifted two hours later and began moving toward Bandasar’s largest city. It moved above it and Gregor lifted his communicator, “Pletal, have you come up with anything?”
“Commander, I’m sending you a recording that comes from one of the earliest invasions we recorded.”
Gregor nodded and saw the data arrive. He looked at Glenda, “I’m going to send this data to your computer. Please have it displayed on one of your monitors.”
Glenda nodded and said to her Scanning Officer, “Do you have the data?”
“I do, Commodore.”
“Please play it on the tactical monitor.”
The monitor activated and they saw a huge city far below. The image grew larger and they saw a massive firefight between the local inhabitants and thousands of Tronan Warriors. Glenda said, “The locals look like they’re holding their own.”
Gregor nodded and suddenly saw a brilliant light appea
r; a huge nuclear explosion blasted the city. Gregor watched the images and lifted his communicator, “Who is in command of the scouts?”
Randy heard the question and said, “I am, Gregor.”
“I’m going to order my forces to withdraw from the Tronan positions. Once they’ve moved, order your scouts in to blast those Tronan.”
“Ground Commander, our orders were to avoid firing on them.”
“I’m countermanding those orders as a Senior Member on the Leadership Team. You will follow my orders!”
Randy looked at Emily and she shrugged. Randy hesitated and said, “Sir, I’ve recorded your orders and await the order to fire.”
Gregor nodded and said over his communicator, “Attention all combined forces currently surrounding the Tronan Forces. Fall back and move away immediately. We will be attacking the Tronan Positions from space and you’ll need to move out of range.”
“Sir, you told us that we could not count on support from the fleet,” Jek thought to him.
“The orders have been changed. Move your forces now!”
“Yes, Sir.”
Gregor looked at Glenda, “Scan the surface and let me know when our warriors have moved to a safe distance.” Glenda nodded and looked at her scanning officer. The scan appeared on the monitor and Gregor shook his head. An hour later, fifty heavy blaster beams hit the Tronan Forces. It was fortunate that the Tronan had collapsed buildings around them. The tall piles of rubble protected the rest of the city from the massive explosions of the Tronan Heavy Weapons.
Gregor punched a number on his communicator, “Kaylee, have you managed to get the Tronan localized?”