by Charles Lamb
“Thanks,” Brian said to ALICE-3 as he sighed in frustration.
“My pleasure,” she replied with what sounded like a laugh.
----*----
“What happened?” Daniel asked as he did his best to look invisible to all the alien troops around him.
“A charge must have been accidently detonated by one of the alien workers. Fortunately the team had completed its work and was not present went the chain went off. No casualties.”
Daniel understood that Colonel Banks’s reference to the chain was the link the charges had with one another. The charges could be linked to go off all at once or in any sequence one chose, to provide the most amount of destructive experience. The down side to that was, you were always conscious of the fact that an accidental discharge would take out all of the team members carrying one piece of the chain.
“Situation?” Daniel heard Banks ask.
“Currently, I am wedged between two piles of containers, waiting for the blasted aliens to quiet,” he whispered as a pair of armed aliens hurried past.
“Remain where you are and we shall see what we can do to remedy your predicament,” Banks replied before dropping the connection.
----*----
General KaLob was in the situation room of the Military High Command building, watching the feed from G-43578 of the incoming attack force. They had additional information transmitting in from a reconnaissance ship sitting well out in space, beyond the reach of the human’s enormous blockade ship.
While they didn’t expect to be able to assemble a force sufficient to counter the human attack in time to prevent it, they were still trying to form a response. Due to the size of the ship sitting just outside the planet’s solar system, they had estimated they would need at least eight to ten cruisers and twice the number of destroyers to counter the firepower the ship represented.
How the humans managed to operate these vessels with such small crews was a mystery to the NeHaw, while stuffing ferrous hulled monstrosities inside. In addition, how they were still capable of FTL travel was a double mystery to all the empire. KaLob had promised a reward of a tribute free existence to any planet that solved the mystery. So far all attempts to replicate the feat had failed.
“General KaLob, we have another report of an attack in progress. This one is a bit confusing as no one can verify who the attackers are?” the officer stated as he handed his superior the report.
Scanning the information, KaLob could see the images confirming the destruction at one of their supply stops, planet K-82734. Scanning through the information, he paused.
“It’s just this one site? The other depots on the planet remain undamaged?” he asked, confused at why the humans would stop there.
“Yes sir. Nothing more,” the officer replied.
“I want two security detachments sent there immediately. There is more to this I think,” the General ordered.
“Yes Sir,” the officer replied as the General turned back to the pending battle.
----*----
The command center in Nevada was a beehive of activity as the various groups managed the continuous flow of data. Jake was aware that something had happened to the SAS mission that had exposed the operation there before they were ready. The initial desire had been to trigger the charges at the depots after the Chinese had landed in an effort to get the NeHaw to split their attention and resources in haste.
The turn of events wasn’t a total disaster, as it could still be used to influence the enemy, he just needed to weigh his options. That bad part of things was Patti’s obsession with gathering details on the incident. Jake was well aware that her Daniel was hip deep in that operation.
The fact that no one had been hurt or killed did little to dissuade her pursuing more details on the status of the troopers. When she finally learned that Daniel was alive, but trapped inside one of the depots she was not relieved one bit.
“Jake we need to do something about Daniel,” she said as she rushed over with a printout of the situation.
Reviewing the information, Jake did a quick check on the status of the Phantom and the remainder of the SAS force. Walking over to one side of the room, he found the analyst he was looking for and made a request.
“Can you get me Colonel Banks without causing him any problems?”
“Yes sir, we are streaming data to and from the Phantom now,” she replied before initiating the communication.
“Banks,” came the curt reply.
“Edwin, this is Jake, you need anything?” Jake asked as Patti stood nearby.
“At present, not a thing. However, I could use a diversion in a bit. We seem to have lost one of our lads, trapped actually. Once I have the rest of the team on board, I was considering plucking him out of the yard before it all became rubbish,” Banks replied.
Looking at the analyst expectantly, she flipped through a few displays before replying.
“We still have one drone in orbit. Presently it’s being used to monitor the supply yard that Lieutenant Atkins is hiding in,” she said hopefully.
“Edwin, are you going in cloaked?” Jake asked.
“That was the idea, however, once we drop the ramp and ladder, we will be quite visible to those below us,” the Colonel replied.
“Here is my idea,” Jake replied as he began explaining his thought.
----*----
Daniel was starting to worry as the short cycle of night and day on this world was about to expose him to the occupants. While the suit provided extremely good camouflage at night, the harsh light of day made it less effective. He had made several attempts to ghost his way to the tunnel only to be thwarted by a roving patrol or some of the yard workers.
The longer they left the charges undetonated, the more likely it was that someone would stumble on one. Even more worrying was the thought of one accidently being detonated, which would not do his health a bit of good.
As he was preparing for another attempt at relocating to the tunnel entrance, he got a ping from the Phantom.
“Confirming your location,” he heard from a voice that was not Colonel Banks.
Checking the display strapped to his forearm, he could see the little map of the supply yard and his blinking location finder.
“Confirmed,” he replied.
“Prepare for vertical extraction in one minute,” the voice replied.
“Vertical?” Daniel repeated to himself. He suddenly got an image of himself dangling at the end of a cable as he was lifted free of the area. He was not delighted with the thought that he was about to become target practice for the alien sentries nearby.
Just then, there was a huge explosion at the other end of the yard and he could see several of the nearby guards rushing off in that direction. No sooner did the disturbance occur than the Phantom loading ramp appeared overhead and a line was dropped.
Attaching the clip to his integrated harness, part of the kit he wore, he then felt a terrific jolt as he was rocketed skyward. His head snapped forward and as he recovered, he noted several of the aliens bringing their weapons to bear.
That was interrupted by a blinding flash as the charges he had helped set went off all at once. His last vision before being drug into the Phantom was flying debris, smoke and flame below.
“Leftanant, so glad you could join us,” the Colonel said with a smile as he offered his hand in helping the man up.
----*----
The drone impact had provided the effect that Jake was hoping for, drawing the alien security away for just long enough to get Daniel hooked up. Once clear of the danger area, the explosive charges had put on quite a show as they lit the area up under the Phantom.
Jake had ordered all the other supply yards destroyed at the same time, not only covering the Phantoms exit, but sending a message to the NeHaw that nothing was safe. Once he was sure the SAS had safely recovered Daniel and was swiftly headed for space, he turned his attention back to the Chinese operation exclusively.
By
now the fighters and combat patrol ships had begun to engage the defensive systems floating in orbit around the planet. As they closed on the planet, these gun platforms opened fire with energy cannons, doing their best to converge on the rapidly moving fighters.
Unable to withstand even the smaller railgun fire from the fighters, it wasn’t long before the combination of fighter and patrol craft fire had cleared a swath across the surface of the planet. At this point the transports had been hanging back, firing at targets of opportunity, but doing nothing to risk their precious cargo.
The attack force had reached the point in the plan where the transports were to split away from the combat ships. This was to allow them to close to the surface of the planet in places not covered by the planetary defenses. As they did so, the two fighter squadrons and the Combat Patrol ships strafed each of the three target locations, removing as many of the gun towers and other defenses as possible before moving to the next site.
Working methodically, they started with the two support sites that didn’t contain the cruisers providing additional firepower. The fighters came in first, low and fast, railguns ripping through the towers raised high above the compounds they protected. Firing the entire time, they scored multiple hits, disabling what they could. Right behind them, the Patrol ships heavier guns destroyed position after position, leaving piles of smoking debris behind them.
Near the first target, no more than a few miles away, the first of the transports set down. Two of the Chinese tanks and two fighting vehicles burst out of the ship’s hold, firing at the remaining defensive positions as they came into range. Behind them and shielded by the vehicles, squads of troops filed down the transport ramps, preparing to overrun the positions inside the compounds once the fences were down.
Of concern to Jake was the additional weaponry the enemy was rolling out of structures around the compounds. Apparently stored away and out of view, he could see mobile gun platforms, similar to 90 or 100 millimeter anti-tank guns of old Earth. These, however, where a mix of single barreled energy cannons and smaller multi-barreled charged particle weapons.
In groups of two or three, he could see the alien gun crews position the weapons along the fence line, facing the incoming Chinese forces.
“Patti, make sure to raise the threat condition for Robert and Bo, we are seeing additional firepower coming into play,” Jake commented, wanting to insure the two commanders on the ground was aware of this new development.
----*----
Colonel Bo watched the progress of his forces from the command deck of the first transport to land. Wanting to be in a position to make changes should the first effort go badly, he stood watching the action supplied by Kola’s overhead feed.
Twice he stopped breathing, as first one, and then another of the tanks took direct hits from the energy cannons still in play. Both vehicles paused for a moment as if confused and then returned fire, the railguns in the turrets ripping the enemy positions to shreds. While not stasis shielded, the heavy iron armor took the hits well.
Seconds seemed like hours as the small force worked its way forward to reach the perimeter, where a once highly charged energy fence vaporized anything that touched it. Chao watched as first his fighting vehicles and then tanks floated right into the facility grounds while taking small arms fire from all directions.
He could see the troops as they fanned out after passing through the breach, engaging the few security personnel brave enough to confront his troops after the pounding the armor gave them.
“Bo, check Target 2,” he heard from Robert who was in another transport supporting that drop.
He looked to the technician working the display, who acknowledged him by shifting the image to the second target, also the one without the cruisers. Here, the tanks had not quite reached the fence. He could see the aliens had scrounged up some portable weaponry, locating it along the approach boundary inside the compound.
As with Target 1, this force only had two tanks and two fighting vehicles in the attack. He could see one of the fighting vehicles was inoperable, its hatches open and crew scrambling for cover. It was then that both tanks fired, converging on the point in the center of the cobbled up defense force.
In a blinding flash of light, an explosion leveled the cluster of defenders, leaving a gaping hole in the ground and the fence. From there, it was short work for his people to sweep into the compound ahead of the armor. He could see his troops swarming into the structures there as the aliens retreated.
The tanks quickly moved in behind the ground forces, engaging defensive positions on the far side of the compound, not visible to them on their approach. While the fighting was still fierce, Bo was satisfied his people had things well in hand.
----*----
After the shooting started at the other locations, Jason and his team watched as the primary Target started to buzz with activity. Prior to the landings, they had surveyed their target area and mapped out the locations and identifying the priority of their targets.
Now the target landscape was changing by the moment. As the four watched, new weapons were being revealed and brought to bear in the compound. Alien troops were positioning themselves all along the fence line in defensive positions created on the fly.
Marking up his map once more, Jason reassessed the target values before turning to the other members of the team.
“Once the shooting starts, feel free to engage,” he commented to the loose members of the team.
His spotter would be busy keeping him on track, but the other two members of the team would be able to engage targets of their own. While not capable of the same accuracy and damage as the sniper railgun Jason was using, their personal weapons had the legs to take out personnel at this distance.
Noticing the transport that had just landed was now belching out troops with the armor maneuvering into position, Jason gave his team the green light.
“Ok, let’s burn some ammo,” he said with a smile.
Chapter 21
Leaving that massive amount of activity at Target 2 for his field commander to manage, Bo had the technician move to Target 3, the big prize.
“Colonel, we are being informed the compound is secure, should we move in?” the transport Captain asked, referring to Target 1.
“One moment please,” Bo replied while pointing to the display.
Both men watched as the tech widened the image to take in the action. With the four cruisers in the compound, the Patrol ships and fighters were still engaging the defensive forces there.
Again, this transport carried two of the fighting vehicles, but in this case there were four tanks. Approaching from two directions, the tanks had split into pairs with one fighting vehicle attached to each pair. Here, an entire platoon was spread between the two approaches, intent on not only securing the compound, but taking possession of the four NeHaw cruisers as well.
As he watched, something caught Bo’s eye. Every so often, one of the alien defenders would just fall, and not rise. With his troops still so far out of range, and not yet engaging the defenders with small arms, it was like the hand of god was reaching out and swatting the aliens, one at a time.
Not an overly religious man, he said a little prayer thanking whatever power it was that was helping them his day.
----*----
Jason was in the zone as his spotter called out target after target. After weeks of sitting and watching, everyone on the team was itching for some action. Having been set up for quite a while before the attack forces hit the ground, he and the corporal spent their time before the assault mapping out their targets with precision.
Once the shooting started, they quickly walked through the preassigned targets, using the various rounds the railgun rifle had available to neutralize the opposition. Once those were ticked off the list, they next moved to targets of opportunity.
“Right two and up three,” the corporal announced, giving him a new target in reference to his last shot. Moving right and up,
he found an alien in a combat suit, directing a small group of others. A gentle squeeze and it was down.
“Sarge, there is a group of those gomers trying to get the gun working on T5,” the corporal said, referring to a preassigned target that they had already neutralized.
Swapping the railgun round out for an HE option, he mentally pictured the map they had drawn earlier and shifted back to the location designated T5. Another gentle squeeze and the group of three aliens erupted in flame and body parts.
He had to admit this railgun rifle was the bomb, literally.
“Left four and down three,” the corporal said again, not pausing to celebrate.
----*----
Jake watched the holograph as the Chinese forces spread out before moving in on their last objective. He felt a tinge of pride as the analysts called out the sniper team’s work, removing threat indicators as they neutralized dangers. He was a bit envious of the shooter, whomever it was.
Focusing on the armor, he could see the tanks leading the advance, with the more maneuverable fighting vehicle sprinting toward targets of opportunity as the battlefield data was being fed to the vehicle commanders.
Unsure of the origins of the defenders, Jake found it hard to believe the NeHaw themselves were actually fighting on the ground. It was a mystery that would be solved soon enough. Whomever it was, Jake had to give them credit, they were putting up a good fight considering their limitations.
By now they had redirected the fighters to support other activities while the two patrol ships continued to slug it out with the cruisers and the remaining gun towers. That interaction prevented the defenders from concentrated fire on the armor as it advanced.
That thought was premature, however as one of the advancing tanks exploded in a bright ball of fire and light. The concentrated fire from two gun towers plus the closest cruiser completely engulfed the vehicle.
As if in retaliation, both gun towers toppled right afterward as railgun fire ripped their supports out from under the gun turrets. With that the remaining tank and fighting vehicle surged forward, carrying a wave of solders in their wake.