by Saxon Andrew
“I’m on it.”
Tilly looked at Mike, “Why do you think they were hidden?”
“Dictators need something to enforce their power. I suspect they are there to use on the people if they rise up to overthrow the current leadership.”
“But that would cause the Q ships to come in and destroy them.”
Mike sighed and shook his head, “And if Yehao told Hetzel that he wanted Earth to handle its own issues and that weapons would be used to make sure the planet remained peaceful?”
Tilly slowly shook her head, “Do you think they’re evil enough to plan this that far in advance?”
“How many times did they try to kill you?” Tilly’s expression changed. Mike shrugged, “Power is a cruel mistress. She never lets go of those she embraces and she can never be satisfied.”
• • •
Adams stood at a huge airfield and watched the next jumbo jet arrive and he waited for the men to exit. This jet carried hundreds of the former Soviet Union’s Special Forces. These Spetsnaz were dangerous; even fifteen years later. A tall man walked off the civilian jet and saw Adams waiting. He stopped and allowed the other three hundred men to join him. He said something and the group started walking together toward the former Navy Seal. Adams knew that the group had resolved who was in command while they were in flight. Two other large Russians walked beside the one in front. “Why have you taken us from our families and brought us here?”
Adams looked the Russian in the eye, “Your English is quite good.”
“We had to learn it; we never knew when we might need to interrogate a captured American.”
Adams smiled, “Do you remember your training?”
The Russian was startled by the question, “How could I forget it? Do you?”
“I think we will never forget that particular memory. I need you and your fellow Warriors to train a new army.”
“What?”
“We are going to go out and fight an Alien Species that is going to kill all of us if we don’t stop them. You are the best warriors the planet ever produced. I need you to train others to be as good as you are.”
The Russian looked back at the three hundred men standing around him and said in Russian, “This American Seal is blowing smoke up our…”
Adams interrupted him in Russian, “You were the best!”
The Russian stopped in midsentence and turned back to Adams, “I’ve heard you Seals make claim to that.”
Adams said, “We’re good; but your members came from an existence that was extreme. Our recruits arrived at training soft from an easy life in America. I don’t think that could be said for those that entered your ranks.” The Russian stared at Adams for a long moment. “We need you to help us prepare for the coming war.”
“Tell me why I should fight for this new planet?”
“Because you and I lost the planet we fought to preserve. I’m not going to allow that to happen again.”
The Russian slowly nodded and smiled, “Perhaps we have more in common than I thought. Will you tell us what you want and we’ll see if we can believe in this new country.”
Adams smiled, “Our warriors will be the only ones allowed to vote on who leads us. The warriors will be given the respect and honor they deserve from a world who will know the sacrifices they make to ensure our safety. Our duty will be to do whatever it takes to defend those that love us.”
The Russians were silent and after a long moment the tall Russian put out his hand, “My name is Alexander Dunlov.”
Adams took the Russian’s hand and smiled, “My name is Adams. I really look forward to learning from you.”
Alex smiled, “Don’t sell yourself short; your country could afford much more extensive training than mine.”
“Perhaps we’ll learn together. However, we are going to have to train our youngest warriors on how to fight.”
“That is something we’ve never forgotten. We look forward to the opportunity.”
• • •
“Mike, we’ve discovered six more sites.”
Mike shook his head “What was in them?”
“Two of them are stockpiled with various American and Russian fighters. Two of the others had massive spare parts for the aircraft and tanks. There are more than twenty thousand of the 120 mm smooth bore cannons used on the Abrams and Leopard tanks. One of them had a massive collection of advanced tanks along with spare parts to keep them operational. There has to be thousands of the 120 mm cannon’s rounds stacked for future use. Everything from the new Abrams and Leopards as well as the new Russian tanks.”
“And the sixth?”
“It was filled with stinger missiles and rounds for the various helicopters. It also had forty Raptors and the ten F-35s. I’ve already contacted Hetzel and he’s sending transports for them. He challenged Yehao on them and he claimed he knew nothing about them.”
“That’s not surprising. You might want to do a scan around the planet while you’re at it.”
“We’re doing that now. I’ll let you know if anything turns up.”
Mike looked at Tilly as she fell back in her chair at the computer console, “I know, I know; you need Raptor and F 35 pilots.”
Mike smiled, “That’s my girl.”
• • •
Bowen wondered why he always got the most difficult assignments. Adams was out working on setting up the training facilities and here he was in the middle of a mess. One would think that his former Seal partner would take better care of him. He shook his head and held his hand over his eyes and looked up. The first Assembly Transport to move civilians was coming down out of orbit outside Jerusalem and the former Israeli citizens were waiting to board the huge vessel. The transport moving down to the surface was a giant. It was six miles in diameter and dwarfed the city below it. There were tens of thousands of Arabs gathered to celebrate the forced deportation of their former enemy and their laugher filled the air. The Hunters stood between those celebrating and the Israelis with their blasters raised. The long lines of men, women, and children began boarding the giant ship, when suddenly, more than ten thousand women rushed out of the demonstrator’s ranks and ran up on the Hunters. The Hunters raised their blasters but a woman leading the rush yelled, “We wish to go with them!”
Bowen yelled, “Hold your fire!” He looked at the mass of women and said, “You what?”
“We will not be allowed to leave if we wait. We must go with this ship or we will be punished.”
Bowen saw the rest of the demonstrators were staring at the confrontation and thought the Hunters were going to kill the impertinent women. Bowen looked in the woman’s eyes and said, “Are you sure about this?”
“That one named Mike said that men and women would be treated as equals on the new planet; was he being honest?” Bowen nodded. “Then yes; we are all sure.”
Bowen’s eyes narrowed and he said, “You may pass and board the transport.” Bowen pressed the collar communicator and said, “Some of you will wait and allow the women to board.” He pressed the communicator again and the volume went up, “If there are any others that wish to immigrate to the new world, you may step forward now.”
Thousands of others ran forward from the demonstrators and joined those boarding the transport. The news helicopters broadcasted the event and by the next morning, hundreds of thousands of Arabs had rushed to the site asking to leave. Mike had three transports ordered in and the mass exodus began. For the first time in their long war against each other, the Israelis and Arabs found common ground on the transports taking them to their new home.
The World Leaders tried to stop the flow but they were reminded that anyone who chose to go would be allowed to leave. They stood helplessly by and watched millions rush to the various transports’ landing sites.
• • •
Mike saw the massive exodus in the Middle East and he contacted Hetzel, “We have an issue.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve been plann
ing to delay the bulk of the population leaving but we have millions that have to go now. If we wait, they’ll be stopped. Where are you at building the necessary housing?”
“We have all our planets building a city each. You will be somewhat amazed at our building capacity. We’re allowing the transports to land at a city where those on board will disembark. If too many arrive at one location, we’ll move our attention to that city and increase the number of homes.”
“Do you have temporary facilities?”
“We do.”
“So you can handle as many as I can send?”
“We can handle as many as the transports can bring. As long as their numbers remain where they are, we will stay ahead of the numbers arriving.”
“What about the forts?”
“They were completed the day the agreement was made.”
“How many will each handle?”
“A hundred thousand.”
“Do you have the electronic training armories set up?”
“We do but we still have to get a recording of a Gracken attack to program them. I’ve been told we’ll have that very shortly.”
Mike shook his head, “I’m sending Adams and Jeanette along with some of the Special Forces to start getting the forts ready for the warriors.”
“That would be good. The Gracken are moving to solidify their presence on the planets they’ve taken and are starting to attack numerous cities.”
“Hetzel, it’s going to take some time to get ready to confront their forces.”
“I know, I know. We’ll do the building for those that are coming. Please start getting them ready as quickly as possible.”
Mike nodded and ended the call. “Adams, I need you and the trainers you’ve selected to pack up.”
“What’s going on?”
“The forts are ready for occupation. I need you to see what the training facilities look like.”
“I’ll let the teams know.”
“That would be good.”
• • •
The huge Gracken Commander stood in front of his unit and waited while the blaster vehicles fired into the force field surrounding the city. The ten thousand troops waiting in ranks behind him saw the force field was close to failing. The commander raised his arm and said into his communications device, “Once the field drops, enter the city and find the force field projectors. Disable them and kill anyone that offers the slightest resistance.”
The Commander never turned to look at the warriors behind him but heard a loud shout of AWAAAAAAA. Good. They were ready. The eight foot tall heavily-muscled, Gracken Warriors were trembling as their circulatory systems pumped enzymes into their bodies doubling both their speed and strength. Six mobile blasters waited with their barrels pointed at the narrow spaces between the buildings. They were converted to conventional heat beams and, once the force field fell, they would fire a blast through the spaces killing anyone dumb enough to be out in the open; that would signal the warriors to commence their advance. The Commander remained stationary. He had no need to release his enzymes. He needed to focus on what was happening.
Suddenly, the force field disappeared and the blasters fired. Ten thousand Gracken Warriors rushed forward almost faster than the eye could follow. The entire command was inside the city in less than a minute. The Commander could hear the blasters discharging and the screams ahead of him. He smiled and knew this was going to be easy. He walked forward and saw the remains of hundreds of bodies littering the streets. He saw a movement above him and he whipped his blaster out and fired at an inhabitant who was foolish enough to stick their head out to see what was happening. The headless body fell twenty stories and hit the pavement with a sickening thud. The huge creature had fired in less than a second, even without the enzymes, the Gracken were incredibly fast.
The Commander continued his stroll and started seeing bodies that were curled up on the ground. His face contorted and he lifted his arm, “I ordered only those that resist to be killed. If you violate my orders again you will undergo my wrath!” He lowered his arm and after another four hundred yards, the number of bodies were not as numerous. Good! His unit knew what it meant to be punished. He took his time and waited until he heard the explosion several miles ahead.
The doors to the force field projectors had been destroyed. He arrived at the center of the city and sat down on a bench. His unit should have things under control shortly. The Pacifiers would be arriving once the fighting was done and his unit would be transported to the next city. He listened as the sizzle of blaster beams finally slowed and then stopped. He waited for several hours and no further sounds of combat were heard. He could have called the Pacifiers in but he was enjoying the moment of solitude. There was no joy in this invasion. These beings offered no challenge to a real warrior and he was tired of the boredom of taking cities with that offered no challenge. He finally raised his arm and said, “The city is now ready.”
He heard the sound of high speed carriers two minutes before the first landed in the center of the city. The Pacifier commanding the carriers exited his carrier and walked up to the giant warrior. “This took much longer than normal.”
The Commander’s smile was pure evil, “So!”
The Pacifier backed up and said, “No offense intended. We just want to make your mission as simple as possible.”
The Commander stared at the Pacifier and slowly stood. He kept his eyes on the Gracken Specialist and then turned and slowly walked away. The Pacifier exhaled and knew he had been lucky. He turned and began issuing orders to his unit.
• • •
The Q ship in high orbit recorded the attack and jumped away as its force field began losing strength. This recording was needed to program the training facilities on the new planet. It disappeared and the Gracken Warships went back to patrolling the planet from space.
• • •
Mike looked at Hetzel, Anotoly, and Sharper. Sharper was shaking his head, “What do you mean we’re not going to rebuild the factories?”
Mike shook his head, “The small arms our soldiers used in the past are not going to cut it. We need to build a different facility.”
“Those weapons were the most advanced we could manufacture. They’ll do the job.”
Mike sighed and looked at Hetzel, “Show them.”
Hetzel said, “Start the video.”
The Russian and American arms manufacturers turned and looked at the hologram that was ten feet from their chairs. The view moved in close and they saw thousands of huge creatures in ranks just outside a city. Anotoly said, “How big are those creatures?”
Mike looked at Hetzel who said, “I’ll use measures you’re familiar with. They’re eight feet tall and weigh about six hundred pounds.”
Sharper started shaking his head, “They remind me of something.”
Mike said, “The Incredible Hulk; only they’re not green.”
Sharper nodded, “You’re right. They don’t have a nose and their ears are missing, but they do appear very much like that comic book creation.”
The force field around the city went down and Antoly and Sharper were shocked. The thousands of mahogany colored Gracken surged forward at a speed that was unbelievable. Some of them jumped more than sixteen feet in the air over burned out vehicles and continued their rush into the city. Sharper looked at Mike, who continued to watch the video, “We determined that their home world must have high gravity which accounts for their extreme strength. However, we’ve also determined that they load their bodies up with natural hormones that increase their speed and strength. Sort of like an adrenaline rush in humans.” He paused and said, “What do you think would happen to our warriors if they try to face off against a charging mass of those giants with AR 16’s and Kalashnikovs?”
Anotoly said, “They’d be overrun faster than one could imagine.” Sharper looked over at Anotoly who was shaking his head, “You know I’m right. I think the small rounds fired would do little more than just
piss them off.”
Sharper looked back at the hologram as it followed the charging Gracken through the city. He shook his head and turned back to Mike, “But firing larger rounds would be impossible at the rate needed to slow them down. It would require something equivalent to an M 60 machine gun and those can’t be handled by a single soldier. The recoil would make accuracy impossible.”
“You’re right. I’ve had Dolg Mittenset meet with Hetzel’s scientists and show them the propellants we use to fire our rounds. They really found something interesting when they took a good look at nitroglycerine and plastique explosives.”
Anotoly smiled, “I believe Dolg was the last Nobel Prize winner in that category.”
Mike smiled, “Nobel made his fortune with explosives. They made a good selection choosing Dolg.”
Sharper said, “I’m surprised Earth’s Leaders let him go.”
“They didn’t. He brought his family to the transport outside Berlin and sought passage. They had changed their appearance so they weren’t recognized by the locals. I think Yehao found out after he was gone. By then, it was too late.” Mike paused and opened a small box in front of him and lifted a small metal object. He held it out to Sharper; Anotoly moved closer to see what it was.
Sharper looked at the inch long piece of metal and looked at Mike, “What is this: a large toothpick?”
“That toothpick as you call it is the most advanced projectile ever created.”
Anotoly said, “Let me see that.” Sharper handed it to him and he took a small magnifying glass from his pocket. He removed it from a leather case and looked at the sliver of metal. He rolled it over and looked at Mike, “The three tiny apertures on one end are for stabilizers.”
Mike smiled, “Yes they are. As it goes through the barrel and starts spinning, the material keeping them inside is rubbed off as the…” Mike paused, “sliver leaves the barrel.”
Anotoly handed Sharper the magnifier and he looked at the tiny apertures. “How fast will they be spinning?”
Mike looked at Hetzel who said, “About ten thousand revolutions per minute.”