by Chris Hechtl
She shook her head and looked away miserably.
(@)()(@)
“Son of a bitch,” Roger Daringer murmured, over and over as the crew stared at the image of the helpless colony ship and the thousands onboard getting killed. He felt so damn helpless; it was what he was there for, to prevent something like that from happening. Knowing they'd failed burned in him. His hands clenched and unclenched in impotent rage.
He turned slightly to see the captain fuming as well.
“One way or another we'll get them back for that,” she said softly. “Count on it.”
He nodded once to her and then returned his attention to the main plot.
(@)()(@)
“Well, they are no slouches, I'll give them that. They did all this on their own without a yard?” Jan said with a shake of her head as she watched the enemy ships retreat to the jump point. Her own fleet was dogging their heels, but the enemy was pulling out all the stops to keep them at bay and at extreme missile range. She didn't want to burn through her limited ammunition in order to get through to them so all she could do is chase them out of the solar system.
“Show someone something and they'll pick it up far faster than it takes to innovate it themselves,” Willard replied.
Jan nodded, but her lips puckered as a thought occurred to her. “That sounds suspiciously like feed a man with a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, feed him for life.”
“Something like that,” Alton replied tiredly. He'd gotten four precious hours of sleep, but that was all he'd allowed himself. He was living on caffeine like the rest of the crew. “What I can say is the next battle just got a bit harder. They'll take what they learned from this one and apply it. And this time we're pushing them back into their home territory.”
Jan's jaw worked. “Understood.”
“But one way or another we're going in there after them. We're going to make them pay for what they did,” Willard vowed.
Jan gave him a sidelong look, but she was already nodding slowly. She could hear and feel the grim approval from the others on the flag bridge as they agreed with that simple statement. She turned to the communications tech. “Order the Marine transport to advance on the planet. Watch out for any surprises in orbit and on the planet. We'll be there to help with the orbital bombardment when we're done escorting the enemy out of here,” she growled.
“Aye aye, ma’am,” the tech replied with a nod.
Chapter 33
Once Second Fleet had settled into orbit of the planet, they lashed it with radar runs as they deployed a series of satellites. When they were ready, they commenced with the orbital bombardment. “A bit like giving our own back, except it's our damn planet,” General Falcon growled, watching the bombardment tear an enemy industrial park apart. Most of the industrial equipment in orbit had been destroyed by the enemy. What was left was probably good only for scrap. That was fine with him; it meant his people didn't have to perform boarding actions in vacuum.
“Yeah well, you might like getting some payback, but all I can think about are the innocent kids down there. They might be alien, but they didn't make the choices their parents did,” General Elliot replied, watching the explosions on the planet's surface.
“Did we even bother to ask for a surrender?” General Falcon asked, pausing to look intently at the Neochimp general.
“Oops? Darn, must have missed that step,” General Elliot replied in a mocking tone of voice colder than ice.
“Yeah,” General Falcon replied slowly. “Pity. Next time I suppose,” he said, turning back to watch the show.
(@)()(@)
The Tauren civilians had fled the population centers the moment they had gotten word of the alien fleet. Their limited number of security personnel tried to keep order. They did their best to maintain calm and discipline and keep them organized in small roving herds. That wore many of the older set out, and of course being on the move meant they couldn't stop to feed often.
Broken Jaw and the other survivors of the colony ship managed to hook up with one small herd on the planet. The Tauren was still unsure as to why he had continued to spare Captain Kendrick. She seemed to treat him more as an equal than as a prisoner he noted.
When they saw a pod nearby with people around it, he led the way, trudging up the hill. She wearily followed along. When they got to the pod, they found out that the Tauren chief tinker had expired within the small craft. The Taurens with Broken Jaw were all set to kill the surviving humans, believing they had a part in the old one's death when the female turned to one of the male humans.
“What happened?” Captain Kendrick demanded, hands on her hips as she warily watched the new Taurens out of the corner of her eyes. She knew Broken Jaw was keeping the peace—for the moment at least.
“He just keeled over. I thought it was a suicide thing, but he grabbed his chest. Lips blue—I'm thinking heart attack,” Bob replied with a shake of his head.
Captain Kendrick frowned and then turned to Broken Jaw. She pointed to the dead elderly Tauren and then to Bob. “Bob, show them,” she ordered.
“Excuse me?” He turned on her. “You want me to have a heart attack? Just like that?”
“Show them what he did. Ham it up if you have to,” she said.
“Oh. Well, okay,” he said dubiously. He blinked and then clutched at his chest. He then pretended to gasp and then faint. The captain pointed from Bob to the elderly Tauren.
“What is that alien doing?” one of the security bulls demanded. “They should have been put down long ago,” he growled, raising his weapon.
“No,” Broken Jaw said, pushing the rifle barrel down. “He is indicating the old one's heart failed.”
“Still, they should be destroyed.”
“I think if their people see them they may not be willing to extinguish this herd,” Broken Jaw said slowly.
The security bull grunted, then turned away. “They are your problem,” he growled over his shoulder.
(@)()(@)
Governor Cristi Schotte and the other survivors with her saw the orbital bombardment from the mouth of the cave they were occupying. “Now what the hell is going on?” Cristi demanded as her younger sister came in with the hunters.
Rachel shook her head as she paused to turn back and look at the strikes. “No idea. It's not thunder and lightning.” She grinned though making her sister frown at her. “Lookey what we caught,” she said, holding up a chicken by the legs.
Cristi smiled in approval. They hadn't had meat in nearly a week. The fish had run out the week before. “Good girl,” she said heartily, confusion about the bigger picture momentarily forgotten at the prospect of getting to eat something, however small the meal portion was. When the kids had stopped complaining they were hungry, that was when she'd really known they were in trouble. Seaweed salad wasn't enough to sustain anyone.
(@)()(@)
“Land the landing force,” Vice Admiral Kepler's voice said over the intercom of the improvised transport ship and every ship in orbit. The sailors and Marines cheered as the shuttles began to launch from the transport as well as the warships.
The invasion of the planet had begun, Jan thought. It was now all in the hands of General Elliot and General Falcon.
The one good thing was that the duo was used to directing a planetary invasion. Or, at least General Elliot was, she reminded herself. Also in their favor was that there had been only minimum resistance, and the enemy lacked air-to-air missiles. It seemed they had the terrified civilian Taurens on the run.
(@)()(@)
For Bobby Falcon, Brigadier extraordinaire, landing was an exhilarating and terrifying experience. He had to wait as his people pounded out to secure the area, then he followed. He stayed near the heart of the temporary base while personnel rushed around to establish a perimeter and set up a basic camp. When the antenna farm went up, he went over to the tent nearby and accessed the feed even before the techs had finished setting up the computers.
&
nbsp; Their first step, establishing bases in strategic locations, was nearly complete. So far, no casualties, no resistance. The next step was far more tricky. The enemy had broken up into small herds that were mobile and on the run. He was going to need to pin them down and contain them with a finite number of personnel. Obviously, he would need to use the terrain to his advantage, but the planet was dismally flat in most places.
(@)()(@)
General Elliot was seeing a different pattern as he landed near his base of operations. They had noted Terrans in slave labor camps near some of the industrial parks. The sailors had been careful to avoid firing on them. But, when the Marines moved in to liberate the people there, they found that the Taurens, despite all appearances of being on the losing side, were not willing to give in. They fought ferociously with a desperation that was surprising to see. He hadn't read such reports since the A.I. War.
(@)()(@)
“On them! Get on them!” Sergeant Gnoll said, and then ducked as rounds clipped his ear. He snarled and then fired back. “You want some of this? Eh? You want to come and get some of this?” he demanded, letting a clip run off in a series of bursts. He pulled out a grenade, primed it by pulling the pin, and then tossed it into the building's open window. “There! Try some of that with hot sauce!” he snarled.
A Tauren came out of a building firing just as the explosion went off behind him. He was knocked flat but then got up, bellowing in pain. He kept firing at the Terrans, hunkered down in their positions. Small caliber rounds bounced off his torso.
“Aim …,” the Neohyena sergeant snarled and fired at the Tauren's knees as the big guy threw his rifle away. The Tauren grunted but then ducked his head. A round ricocheted off his skull, but he kept charging.
“Uh oh,” the sergeant said, rolling to get out of the way. He dodged a swat, then fired rounds into the Tauren's eye from near point-blank range.
That did it. The Tauren roared in agony as he reared up and then slumped down.
Sergeant Gnoll got clear just as other Taurens began to fire from their positions. “Yeah, fun,” he muttered, switching out his ammunition clip and then making sure the new clip was seated properly.
(@)()(@)
Cristi was proud of the hunters when they caught another scrawny chicken. It was better than the small rabbit they'd had the night before and went well with the two small fish that had been caught. They couldn't get complacent though, which was why she was leading a team to gather as much food from the forest edge as they could manage.
She looked up at the sound of thunder in the distance. There were only wisps in the sky she noted as she looked around. “That means …” she turned in place until she saw the craft flying around. “What the hell?”
“Something's up,” Bogi said with a shake of her head.
“Get under cover!” Cristi called out, waving to the group to hide.
She looked over her shoulder warily as the craft flared out and then came down in the field nearby. She paused in a crouch and didn't realize she was crying at the sight of the Terran Marines deploying from the craft until she felt her hand over her mouth and the tears touching her fingers.
“Liberation is at hand,” her sister whispered, then waved to the Terran group ecstatically. “I don't care how furry they are, I'm going to kiss one of them on the lips!” she said, bouncing in place.
(@)()(@)
“We've got a large group of beasts with what looks like humans and a couple Neo hostages,” Sergeant Gnoll reported softly through his radio to HQ. He was a Neohyena, a rarity in the service.
There was a pause from the other side of the radio. After a moment, the lieutenant cleared his throat. “Surround them. I'm coming,” Lieutenant Abernathy replied tightly as he closed the circuit.
(@)()(@)
Captain Kendrick felt intense relief when she saw the Marines surrounding her group. But the relief was short-lived when she saw them moving in with their weapons raised. She might be front row for a massacre and herself caught in the crossfire.
“Hold on there,” she called out suddenly, hands up. She raised her voice and repeated the order. That made a few Marines stop and seek cover while the Taurens who had just started to notice their presence pause and turn to her, then to the intruders surrounding them.
She got between the Marines and the Taurens and put her hands out. She turned and ordered them to lower their weapons. When Broken Jaw didn't react, she pointed to the weapon and then down.
Broken Jaw didn't understand her, but he understood her intent when she pointed to the rifle in his hands and then to the ground. Slowly he set his weapon down on the ground.
“Sarge? What gives?” a Marine demanded, turning his head slightly but never taking his eyes off the enemy.
“Hang on folks; I'm trying to get them to surrender. They've got women and kids present so they are a bit twitchy,” Captain Kendrick said hoarsely. She felt fatigue and exhaustion sapping her entire being but held on through stubborn strength of will. She had to see it through to the end.
“What? What are you doing?! Pick that up!” The lead security bull snarled as he turned to Broken Jaw.
“It's over,” Broken Jaw said heavily, realizing he had lived for this one purpose. It was a gamble, but he was willing to risk it. To put his faith in the human he had guarded for so long.
“The hell it is! Pick it up! We have a duty to protect them!”
“They have us surrounded. We must surrender,” Broken Jaw said gently, as if to a child. He turned to the other bull.
“It is our duty to die to protect the herd!” the security bull insisted.
“If we fight they will fire into the herd and kill all. If we lower our weapons, they will not harm them,” Broken Jaw said, taking a chance.
The other bull stared at him for a long fulminating moment. His breath clouded the air around him. “You don't know that,” he said slowly.
“I know from that one,” Broken Jaw said, pointing to the former ship's captain. “She surrendered expecting the same treatment. We kept them alive for this reason.”
“My mates, my herd is here,” the security bull said, turning to look at his family. One of the cows held a baby calf tightly.
“Then for their sake, lower your weapon,” Broken Jaw said. He turned. “All of you,” he said, raising his voice. Set your weapons down.”
The bull turned to the cow, then turned to Broken Jaw. “You better be right about this,” he muttered as he switched the rifle off and then set it down. He kept his hands splayed out, fingers apart to show he wasn't armed.
“I don't know. But we'll see,” Broken Jaw replied as the other security bulls lowered their weapons as well. He made a show of stepping away from his weapon and then raising his hands.
(@)()(@)
“They are surrendering, sir. It looks like the humans talked them into it,” Sergeant Gnoll reported. He noted the woman in the dirty ship's coverall and wondered what her story was. She obviously looked the worse for wear.
“Good. Damn good. Secure their weapons and then talk to the humans. Find out what you can. I'll be there shortly,” Lieutenant Abernathy said, sounding harried.
“Aye aye, sir,” the sergeant replied. He shook his head. “Okay people, the LT says to round ‘em up and then sit on them until he comes by for a look-see. So, everyone play nice. Don't get trigger happy or I'll have your balls,” he growled.
He turned to see the woman walking over to him. She slowed her stride as she heard his salty language, then laughed.
“What the hell's so funny?” he demanded in a high-pitched voice. She just shook her head, face split with a relieved smile, face wet with tears.
Chapter 34
Altair picket point
Captain Knox's grin of relief at exiting the Altair jump point was short-lived and nearly his last. Zephyr exited the hyperbridge network right into the guns of a pair of massive dreadnoughts. “They’re hitting us with fire control!” a tech said, voice rising in pani
c. “Their shields are up and they are hitting us with radar and lidar hard!” he said as alarms wailed.
“Comm broadcast our IFF, damn it! Get them to stand down!” the captain snarled, half rising out of his chair before the alarms ceased.
“They are standing down now,” the sensor tech reported. “The carriers have launched fighters; they look like they are looping back to their mother ships.”
“Good. What the hell?” the captain demanded.
“I think someone's a bit edgy,” the XO said with a shaky laugh. “Or, they decided to give us a scare and themselves a good drill.”
“Drill my ass. I think I need a new pair of pants,” the sensor tech murmured.
The XO laughed, then took a sniff. “Oh,” she coughed in her hand. “Yeah, I'll mind your station; you um …,” she waved him off. The guy got up and waddled out fast.
Captain Knox shook his head. “Comm, let them know we've got the log.”
“Sir, the flagship Texas is ordering us to transmit our log to them. They say—they say they'll transmit our hot log to Sol through the ansible while we're en route,” the comm tech reported, wrinkling her nose.
“Someone turn up a blower and get some air freshener,” the captain ordered. “ansible?” he asked, moving over to the communication's station.
She looked up and then pointed to the plot. He looked up to the main screen as the radar painted in a long-range stationary contact. Its IFF reported it as something called an ansible platform.
“Okay, if that's what they want, send them our regards and the logs then please, Stacy,” he ordered, patting her on the shoulder.
“Aye aye, sir,” she replied.
(@)()(@)
Sol star system
President Camp nodded as he read the report from their newest ansible. Placing the second ansible where it was strategically important made a lot of sense. It gave them an early warning in case an enemy fleet returned. It also allowed them to exchange data with the picket there, albeit at a snail's pace. You could only transmit so much data with two bits to play with. Having one for each direction cut the bandwidth in half. But, it allowed the fleet to get a critical warning if necessary.