by T S Paul
The younger officer sighed. “Sort of. My Cabal and this Cabal are different groups.” At the strange look he got he elaborated. “Back on Hong Kong my family were Earth supporters. My ancestors were UN employees that were sent to infiltrate the local government and bring it in line with Earth's policies. For some reason contact was lost, and we were abandoned by the Cabal. So they organized and built up a network of their own. My family has only been in contact with the Cabal here for less than fifty years. Former Governor Norton was our contact with your Cabal. We were on our own for over a century. Your Cabal has different goals. It is almost like each group was given conflicting orders. My family tried to follow the new orders from Miguel and his people, but our planet is a farming colony. We don’t have a large military presence on Hong Kong. The Lee family dominated that, and they were not among us. We tried to do as Miguel ordered, but failed. I almost lost my children, my whole family. In the end, the Hong Kong government rounded my group up, loaded us all on transports and flew us here.”
Lieutenant Jenkins nodded. That explained a lot. “I was aware of the Cabal transports. I didn’t know you were on one. This is a huge mess.” Glancing outside he saw movement in the sky. “Get to cover, here they come again!”
The two men raced to the stairs as a flight of bombers buzzed the house. Explosions were heard but not at the house. They ventured out and saw the bombers hitting a section of the neighborhood along the road.
“Get that idiot back up here. We need to know what’s over there.” Clark nodded and went downstairs to look for Spencer.
He found the former Imperial quartermaster curled up in his former bedroom closet crying. All attempts to drag him out failed. “Damn it to hell!” He gave the man a sharp kick and went back down to the garage. Finn, Spencer’s son, was still helping the overworked medics.
“Finn, can you do something for us?”
“Yes, sir. Whatcha need?”
“The bombers are hitting something up the road. We are unfamiliar with the area can you tell us what is over there?”
“Sure, Dad is better but I can do it. Where is Dad anyway?” The boy looked around in search of his father.
“Your Dad is helping us in another part of the house. Can you come upstairs? It might be dangerous.”
Finn shrugged his shoulders and followed the officer upstairs. Looking around in shock he peered in through the doorways as they went. “Is the whole house like this? Dad’s gonna freak!”
Clark grimaced but refrained from responding to the comment.
“Finn, come over here by the window. Keep low if you can.”
The teenager crouched down and crawled over to the window. He peered over the edge.
“The bombers are hitting something just around the corner. What is over there?”
Finn’s mouth was open; he could barely speak and all he could do was stare at the destruction around his house. His eyes suddenly focused on a hand snapping its fingers in front of his eyes. “Kid, snap out of it!”
“... Sorry. What did you ask me?”
“Any idea what they are bombing?” Finn followed the lieutenant’s finger. Earth bombers were strafing and bombing something just out of sight of the house.
“The only thing over there is the shopping center and Dad’s government office.”
“Interesting. Is the building fortified? Does it have some sort of shelter there?”
Finn sat down and thought for a moment. “The Government building is built of the same stuff this house is. Or at least that’s what Dad says. I think there is an earthquake shelter or something there too.”
The two officers looked at each other. “Finn, you can go back downstairs. Watch out for the glass and debris.”
Both men watched as Finn left.
“What are you thinking?”
“Most likely the same as you Clark: That is where all the people went. Those that weren’t at work or whatever sought shelter at the government center. Those Earth ships must have detected them. But why attack them now?”
“I think I know, Sir.” Jenkins looked over at Clark and saw what he saw. Dark shapes could be seen in the distance making their way up the road.
“Ground troops. They are softening the bunker up. But why? They are civilians, I doubt there is a weapon among them.”
“They don’t know that. Damn. They are too far for us to get to. Hopefully they just take them prisoner. Find Velasquez, and let's get everyone into position. This day just got a whole lot longer.”
~~~~~
“Sir, my special units were unable to secure the command center. They have anti-ship batteries surrounding that city. None of my dropships were able to get through their barrage.”
Alpha 222 looked at the Delta commander with the disdain of leadership. “Do you have any good news for me?”
“Yes, Sir. We caught the Cabal leader, the Gen Mod known as Miguel 009. He tried to escape in a small shuttle hidden on the outskirts of the city. We have him secured in the hold.”
The Alpha smiled. “Excellent work Delta 2955, I will rescind the pain amplifier order for you. The Zeta’s will be disappointed, but we have some Gen Mods for them to play with now. Now that we have Miguel, do we even need that city?”
Looking at the battle map Delta 2955 traced what his commander was looking at. “No, Sir. Not really. The tech centers are located here, here, and here. They kept them out of the city itself. I’m sure we can find copies of any information the city contains at the other cities. I have one request before you terminate them.”
The Alpha looked at the Delta with raised eyebrows. It was unusual for them to request anything. “What is it?”
Pointing to the battle map Delta 2955 swept his hand across a section. “This location, Sir. I would like for my troops to neutralize this first. They have proved troublesome.”
“How so?”
“Sensors show them to be human. They have killed three of my top commanders and destroyed several of my advance platoons. They are dug in on this hill here.” He pointed on the map. “We have been unsuccessful in digging them out. My men are fired up. They see this as a stain upon our honor and we cannot allow any word of humans defeating us to get out.”
“Approved. You have four hours. After that I will allow you an additional hour to get to a safe distance. No more, Understand?”
“Yes, Sir. Thank you Sir.” The Alpha waved him away. He stepped over to a small cluster of Zetas.
“What is your status?”
“Sir, the processing center is complete. We have started processing the population. So far we have a small group of Gen Mods already in custody. The pits are being dug as we speak.”
“Good work. The criminal leader of the Cabal is in our custody. Drain him but keep him alive. The Program wishes for him to be sent back. We are going with the Omega option for the main city. Keep your people clear.” Alpha 222 stepped inside his shuttle. He would watch the Delta assault from his ship.
~~~~~
“Sir, we searched the bodies of the Earth troops.” Command Sergeant Major Velazquez stood before her commander with a strange weapon in her hands. “They were equipped with these.”
“What sort of rifle is that CSM?”
She popped out a magazine and showed the lieutenant. “It’s a slug thrower. I learned about these things in school. This is a copy of a very old Earth weapon called a STEN gun. It is a sub-machine gun. It was extremely useful during some of Earth’s first modern wars. This thing surprises me, Sir. Earth is supposed to be this technological giant. Why use these things? They’re antiques.”
“Can our troops use them?”
She nodded. “Of course. Super easy Sir. We picked up a lot of ammo for them too. They came in unprepared; don’t expect that again, Sir.”
“Thank you Julie. I expect they will hit us with more troops next time. Get those issued quickly.”
“Already ahead of you Sir.” She ducked out of the room. Lieutenant Jenkins pinched the area between h
is eyes and then rubbed it. The next time the Earth troops attacked they might not survive it. He walked down to his CP.
A young - very young - private acknowledged him as he stepped into the room. The reinforcements from command finally showed up just before the Earth attack. They were just two platoons of Seal scouts. Teenagers in uniform. They didn’t even have proper weapons. They told tales of mass chaos and attacks at the command center. It explained the chaotic orders.
A scout group of Earth troops had slipped over the barricades while the Seventh was still digging in. His troops had managed to kill them only by sheer luck. The CSM was issuing weapons when they attacked. Her squad took them out with rifle fire. The rumors proved true: they were all clones.
“How many walking wounded do we have?”
The Command staff medic was the only one that survived the initial bombing. He had worked tirelessly for the first time in years. He looked up from Captain Union. She was still hanging on, but was completely incoherent from the pain. He changed her bandages without even looking. “We have about thirty that might be able to walk out of here. The rest? Not without a great deal of support.”
“I need every troop who can shoot on the front line. When they hit us again, we could be overrun.”
“Lieutenant, we could surrender. I’m sure that they have medical personnel who can help us. Maybe even save the Captain.”
Shaking his head, Jenkins looked at the man. “That, Doctor, is why medical staff cannot give orders on the battlefield. Just get them up and moving.”
The addition of over thirty extra troops filled the battle line up. Many of the wounded still didn’t have weapons but could help with support duties. They were just in time.
“Sir, our spotters report a large force has just come around the bend.” The lieutenant thanked the runner and moved to his spot on the second floor. He was at risk there but it was the best place to run the battle from.
Some sort of tank was moving forward approaching the barricades. Behind it were three armored personnel carriers interspersed with marching troops. The tank blasted a hole in the makeshift wall and stopped. The three APC’s pulled up to within range of the trenches.
Sniper fire could already be heard as they opened fire on the massed troops. The APC’s began to draw fire. The two squad-crewed heavy guns began firing at any black-clad troops they could see.
Lieutenant Kent was in the most forward trench. His group had manufactured several homemade grenades and planned to use them against the APC’s. They had only a very few and Clark wanted to be the first to try one.
“If we throw together the thermite should have enough mass to burn through those APC’s. On my mark throw.” His three troops pulled their pins just as he did and threw them around two of the APC’s. Only one of them actually exploded. Thermite shards flew in all directions. Some did stick to the APC’s and began to burn. The gun turrets swung around and fired at the trenches.
Lieutenant Jenkins could hear the screams from his position. He rushed over to the side of the house to witness the death of his second in command and all his men.
Before Clark could order the men to take cover the three APC’s opened fire. Instead of shells their turrets began to spew napalm. Using their turrets as giant sweeping flamethrowers they sprayed the trenches. Clark screamed as he was lit on fire. He tried to crawl out of the trench of death but was shot down by the Earth troops. The APC’s reversed direction and brought their flame to the other fixed positions. Jenkins watched in horror as the walking wounded he used to beef up his defenses were shot down in cold blood as they tried to flee the flames. They were now turning their flames on the house itself. The troops on the main level ran in both directions. Up the stairs and down.
“Shoot as many as you can!” Jenkin’s men began shooting at the black-clad clones.
Down in the garage Delta 2955 and his special squad flanked the defenders and burst into the makeshift medical bay. He stepped over the dead and the dying. His man began executing the humans. “Stop! You can’t do this.”
He swung around and shot the Doctor in the shoulder. The doctor looked up from the bullet hole. “Why? We wanted to join you. My whole life was in support of Earth.”
The Delta commander smiled at that. He leaned down and faced the doctor. “What to know a secret? It was all a lie from the start.” At the Doctor’s look of horror he shot him in the head.
“Sir, we found this hiding in one of the rooms.” The commando held a squirming teenage boy.
“Take him to the Zeta’s. They said they were looking for breeding stock. What is our status?”
“We have secured the lower level. Enemy forces hold the upper levels. We are unable to make it more than three stairs up.”
“Hold your position for now. Tell the snipers to get into position. Bring up the special munitions.” He checked his time. They had less than an hour to clean up this mess. It would take most of the escape time to get clear.
His troops returned with three large boxes. “Place one each by the stairwells and the other in the center of the main room. Inform the units to get clear.” Delta 2955 hated to waste clones. It took too long to replace them.
Taking a control unit from his munitions expert the grim commander smiled. “We should have brought marshmallows.” He pressed a button.
Inside the house the three boxes exploded. Each contained over twenty pounds of White phosphorus. The burning material began to produce billowing-hot-white smoke that consumed all the oxygen in the room. The smoke was drawn up the stairwells and filled the upper levels. The coughing defenders began to appear in the windows. Easy targets for snipers.
Half blinded men and women were gasping at the windows for air. Anytime they stuck their heads up a sniper would shoot them. Command Sergeant Major Velazquez was familiar with the use of ‘Willie Pete.’ The old Imperials had experimented with it when she was just a staff sergeant. Her only chance was to get above it or somewhere the outside air would cool it down. She looked above her and began to climb the ladder to the roof.
The two snipers up there had already been killed by the Earth snipers. But they were too busy to notice her as she picked up a fallen rifle and began firing.
Lieutenant Jenkins was in agony. The hot smoke burned his lungs and scorched his hands and face. He was smart enough to know not to approach the windows, but he really wanted to just to make the pain go away. He heard whistles and the sound of motors revving. Taking a chance he peered over the edge of a window. The Earthies were pulling out!
Command Sergeant Major Velazquez saw the same thing the lieutenant did but from higher up. White smoke was everywhere but she could see them running down the road back toward their ships. They had won! Somehow, they had won! She needed to get back down.
He thought he was dead. “Lieutenant Jenkins can you hear me?” At first he thought it might be an angel until he opened his eyes. The crusty smoke and fire blackened face of Command Sergeant Major Velazquez came into view. She smiled heat burned lips at him. “Good, you’re not dead!”
“I thought you were an angel come to take me to heaven.”
“Sorry to disappoint, Sir. The Earth troops pulled out. We somehow won.”
“What? Why? They were winning. I don’t understand. When did they leave?”
“It was about an hour ago, Sir. I found you and dragged you out here. It’s away from their last position so no snipers.” The two of them were outside on the wrap-around porch. They were facing the city not the airfield.
Suddenly there was a very loud sonic boom that caused them to both look up. The biggest explosion either of them had ever heard shook the very ground. Looking through red-smoke-tortured eyes Julie stared in shock as a mushroom cloud consumed the city she grew up in.
“Sir, it has been an honor.” She leaned down and kissed the young officer in a full embrace. The overpressure wave swept over the shattered neighborhood grabbing the two of them and tossing them over the house. Neither of them was ali
ve when the explosive debris reached them.
~~~~
“And that is that.” Alpha 222 looked at the vid images of the massive explosion. He turned toward the Gamma.
“Will there be radiation to contend with?”
“No, Sir. We used the new type. No radiation, fallout, or lingering problems. It is the cleanest bomb we have in inventory.”
“Do we have a status on the shipyard and the tech plants?”
“Yes, Sir. The shipyard is intact and ready to commence work. The tech plants were damaged in the fighting but not beyond our comprehension and recovery.”
“Excellent. Turn off the jamming field. I need to inform the Program of our success.”