by Ben Winston
“Cole, please open a broad band channel to the incoming forces. Let's see if this is really who we think they are,” Ariel ordered.
Cole replied an instant later. “Channel open.”
“Attention Hell Jumpers. This is Imperial Princess Ariel Parker. Whom do I have the pleasure of killing today?”
“Miss Parker, I am Colonel Syless Frenk, I am the commander for this mission. You honestly think you stand a chance here?” Came the reply.
“Forgive me, Mr. Frenk, I thought I would be speaking to General Creel, not some incompetent flunky. Unless your masters lied to you quite a bit, I'm afraid the only thing you've come here to do today is die. I am very pleased to note that the real Hell Jumpers are still loyal to the Empire,” Ariel replied.
As she watched, the wing of fighters from the Divine light followed the Earth missiles in and began obliterating anything in the sky.
The mercenary commander replied chuckling. “You have no idea what you're talking about. General Creel is dead and his obsolete, unprofitable, ethics went with him. The Empire is dead too, only you are too stupid to know it. There are new rulers now, and they aren't you. As for the orders I received, I am certain the information would surprise you.”
“Somehow, I doubt that. Only an incompetent leader would allow his troops to be slaughtered in wholesale lots like you are. This attack of yours is about as bright as trying to use a Demascos Bomb to destroy this system. Personally, I think the whole lot of you are insane.”
This time, his laughing reply did unnerve Ariel. “See? I knew you wouldn't figure it out! Several of the other commanders had a bet that you'd figure out our ruse before now! You just made me a tidy sum of money. I knew the hype about you had to be fake! Let's just hope you die as easily as you are tricked.” With that, he closed the connection.
Ariel once again glanced at the screen and saw quite a few less armored soldiers falling through the sky. The ones that were there seemed to be waving frantically.
“Cole! Scan the drop troops for weapons!” Ariel commanded, feeling sick.
“No weapons found. Why would they drop unarmed soldiers into a battle?” Cole asked.
“Because those aren't soldiers! Call the fighters, and tell them to stop shooting at the drop troops. Take out the ships, and do a wide area scan for energy weapons!” Ariel said. “We've been killing unarmed slaves dressed in armor. Cole, scan for temporal anomalies.”
“Temporal anomalies detected. Our temporal missiles won't work in atmosphere, however, I have marked each location for...”
“Highness, we have movement out in the desert. The troops are simply appearing all over the damn place!” Ensign Yunger said excitedly.
“There are your real targets, Colonel. It looks like the game is on,” Ariel said. “Good luck and good hunting.”
R'Hea nodded. “This'll be a turget shoot, Highness.”
“I think you mean 'Turkey', Colonel.” mKail suggested.
Again the woman nodded, but was distracted. “Those too. What are you waiting for, Marsten? An invitation? Kill them!”
The Colonel closed the connection as, down on the desert floor, enough energy to power Las Vegas for a week slammed into the estate shield. The last of the original ships fell to earth in a burning pile of wreckage. The cargo pod it had been towing slammed hard into the ground a few meters away and slid to a stop. Before any of the enemy troops could get to it though, Cole blew it into dust with a missile.
Very quickly, Ariel began to feel superfluous. There simply wasn't anything for her to do, and so far, the Tides of Mars was being ignored.
“Cole, did you ever get a chance to read any of the science fiction from Earth?” Ariel asked.
“Some, what do you have in mind?” Cole replied.
“Well, I got to thinking about something from one of David Weber's novels. He called it a warp grenade. Now, I know that isn't feasible, since a human couldn't throw it far enough to be safe from the effect, but what if we could strap one to a missile?” Ariel asked.
“It still wouldn't be very useful Ariel, our troops are too close to the enemy for it to be safe,” Cole replied.
“Not to use on the troops, but what about those parked temporal ships? I don't know if you've noticed, but they can still use energy weapons,” Ariel said looking at the area of the shield where a breach seemed about to form.
Cole actually had to stop firing for a few minutes as he did the computations for the effect. It would most certainly disrupt the temporal cloak, but what else would it do? The last thing they needed was to cause a singularity or some other nasty piece of business to form on the Earth's surface.
“If the warp field generator is small enough, then it might not destroy the ship, but it would certainly disrupt the temporal shift device,” Cole said.
“Disrupt or destroy?” Ariel asked.
“Based on the designs of the ones we captured, the temporal device should be reduced to unusable slag. However, the field activation would have to be inside the event horizon of the temporal device,” Cole explained.
“Are you worried you'll miss?” Ariel teased.
“I'll get the drones started removing a few of the warheads on the ship to ship missiles. They will have to build the warp field generators. This might take a sometime, we are not equipped for this,” Cole replied.
“Hold on a minute, Cole. What about the maintenance shack down at the Estate? Wouldn't it be better for them to do this?” Ariel asked.
“Yes it would. They are better equipped for customized and specialized work than I am. If they could build the missiles, we could get them mounted on the fighters for deployment,” Cole replied, warming to Ariel's idea.
“Let's pass it off to them then. Besides, it'll give them more to do while the fighting's going on,” Ariel ordered.
“Shield breach in sector four. This is where things start to get messy,” Yunger said.
Ariel once again returned her attention to the battlefield below. Messy wasn't exactly the word she would have used for the hell she was witnessing. She was taking casualties, but from what she could see her people were still giving a lot better than what they were getting. The question was, would it be enough.
Four of the slavers ships dropped their temporal cloaks long enough to launch several dozen missiles, before once again disappearing from view.
“Missile lock! We have thirty-six inbound missiles. Impact in fifteen seconds!” Yunger cried out.
“Point defense systems activated. Shield at one hundred percent. Notifying snipers to withdraw into their bunkers,” Cole intoned.
Ariel had three snipers with her on the top of the bluff. Granted it was at the extreme range of the sniping weapons, but they were still effective. Cole had his remotes dig small bunkers for the teams for this very possibility. The bunkers were not only made of plasticrete and battlesteel, they had their own small shield generators. It would be a rough ride, but they'd live through it.
The Tides of Mars shook as the missiles that made it through the point defense fire impacted the shields. “Damage report!”
“Shields at eighty-one percent, and holding. Hull integrity is still intact,” Yunger said. “He's a tough one, I'll say that.” He checked another monitor. “Snipers are good, and have resumed firing.”
Ariel noticed that four of the fighters had landed and pulled into the hanger. The maintenance people certainly weren't wasting any time.
Colonel R'Hea opened a comm. “Highness, good idea with those new missiles. Could you implement 'Rain of Fire' at this time?”
“Certainly, Colonel. We'll be there in a sec. Keep your heads down,” Ariel replied.
“Preparing to launch. Cole, do the kids want to come along?” Yunger asked.
“No, they have chosen to stay, Ensign. We are ready for lift.” They would be leaving not only the snipers, but the rest of Ariel's assault team on top of the bluff to protect them from ground assault.
“Are you ready for this, Cole?�
� Ariel asked.
“Remotes have reestablished shields, and secondary shields are on standby. Weapons systems are at maximum. Rain of Fire program is standing by. Remaining fighter craft have been alerted, and will form on our wing as we begin the pass.”
Ariel nodded and tightened her seat restraints. “Initiate.”
The Tides of Mars sprung from the ground like a missile, and immediately flipped over to drop back down behind the bluff. He dropped to the deck and sped away from the battle site. At roughly two miles, he turned around, and began accelerating as four of the remaining fighter craft took up flanking positions on each side.
“Computer synchronization complete. I have the weapons and flight systems of the fighters,” Cole reported. “Stand by for estate shield deactivation. Shield deactivated – beginning run.”
'Rain of Fire' was a contingency scenario that Colonel R'Hea, Colonel Janis, Cole and Ariel came up with in case too many enemy troops made it inside the shield. What it amounted to was Cole taking control of four fighter craft, linking them to his flight and weapons control systems to perform a high speed, very low altitude strafing run across the battlefield.
The difference between this and a regular strafing run was that all the weapons on all the spacecraft would be controlled and targeted by Cole. He would also be using most of the energy weapons in a continuous fire mode. It promised to be a rather impressive show.
Ariel felt the heat spike from the weapons, and quickly wondered how the fighter pilots were doing.
“Blessed Goddess!” someone said over the comms.
“Rain of Fire complete. Estate shield reactivating. Scenario effectiveness, eighty-seven point nine percent. Friendly casualties; fourteen dead, six wounded.”
“Damn!” Ariel swore. “How?”
“The shielding on one of the bunkers had been compromised due to enemy action. By the time our people knew it, it was too late to get everyone out,” R'Hea said from the comms. “Couldn't have been helped, Highness. However, you did break the assault. The fighting has become sporadic, and isolated. Of course, it could be that they're afraid you'll make another pass!”
“Not possible at this time, Colonel,” Cole replied. “Weapons systems are seriously over loaded. As it is, the four fighters will have to have their laser generators replaced. They'll be landing shortly, right now they're too hot.”
“That's okay, Cole. We really don't need it again. That first pass was far more effective than we had planned. Now, if we can get the ships they came here in before they make a run for them, we'll be set,” R'Hea replied.
Several of the slaver ships decloaked and launched missiles again. This time they weren't all directed at the Tides of Mars. However, there were a lot more of them. The four over-heated fighters headed for space, being too hot to risk more weapons fire. The fighters that hadn't landed, and had not been part of the plan began evasive maneuvers and tried to counter attack. Cole once again activated his point defense systems, but he too was risking a critical overheating.
Before that batch of missiles could be dealt with more missiles were launched. The slaver ships once again began focusing their fire to create another breach in the shield.
“What are these idiots doing?” Ariel asked. “They don't have any troops left, do they?”
“I just don't know Highness. However, we didn't know they had landed the troops they did have. They could have another division out there, and we wouldn't know anything about it until they started shooting,” R'Hea replied from the comm. “From their behavior, I would say that they aren't done playing yet.”
“Atmospheric Hyperspace event forming! Three-zero-four degrees, ten miles. At forty-one thousand feet!” Cole replied.
“Shit!” Ariel said.
“Indeed, Highness. I would say this is what they were up to,” R'Hea said.
“Profile and mass readings indicate a light cruiser class ship,” Cole added as a ship emerged from the event horizon. “Confirmed, although I do not have this type on file, it is definitely a light cruiser. Armament profile suggest a planetary assault role.”
“At least she doesn't have the temporal cloak. What's she carrying, Cole?” R'Hea asked.
“Six class three heavy lasers, ten class two medium lasers, twenty turret mounted mass drivers, or what we call MAG cannons. Twelve type four missile turrets. She also has several ground assault ramps that can be opened once she's grounded. I should mention that she could be carrying up to a reinforced battalion including heavy armor, and artillery. I don't see any fighter bays, although she does have four point defense clusters mounted two fore and two aft.”
“Right nasty bitch, that one is,” Bri'tell said over the comm. “We may have a problem with her in the neighborhood.”
'Dog Pound'
Phobos Maximum Security Penal Colony
Martian Moon; Phobos.
Grant Meyers looked at the ragged bunch of prisoners standing before him, and wondered if Ariel really knew what she was doing.
“Listen up you fucking animals. My name is Major Grant Meyers, and as of right now, I own each of you. I have been instructed, on behalf of her Imperial Majesty, Princess Parker, to offer you wastes of air a choice.”
“Each of you have already been convicted of capitol offenses for which the punishment is death. Hear me on this; we are at war. You have no rights of appeal. The ONLY reason you are still drawing air is because of Her Majesty.”
“She appealed to the Emperor to give you the choice of becoming a soldier used for special, high risk missions, or you can accept the judgment of the courts and be executed.”
One of the large monsters in the back snorted. “What's in it for us?”
“You get to continue breathing for a while longer. I'm not going to lie to you. The missions you will be sent on, have little to no survivability. If you do survive to make pick-up, you will be brought back here for additional training until the next time you are needed,” Grant explained.
“What's to keep us from agreeing, then just walkin' once we're outta here?” another one asked.
“You will be equipped with a collar like any good dog. If you misbehave, you will be shocked. If you try to run, you will be killed. You have no rights, save for those I give you. You will have no possessions save for those I give you. You will live or die as I see fit.”
“I thought the Empire was against slavery?” a burly, muscular woman asked.
“It is against human slavery. You lot are no longer humans, you are animals, and will be treated as such,” Grant explained. “Personally, I hope you all refuse. Then we can just shoot your asses and get back to work.”
“A life of being treated like an animal or death, isn't much of a fuckin' choice! I'd choose death...”
BAMN!!
The speaker fell to the ground with a hole in his head. As everyone turned back to look at Grant, he lowered his weapon and put back in his holster. “That's the choice. Death now, or death fighting. I won't tolerate any fucking around. You shit on my floor, or piss on the walls, and that's it. The choice is yours.”
Whether they thought they'd be able to get away later, or if they just didn't want to die, the rest of the animals chose to fight. As soon as the collar was on, all the restraints came off. Grant heard the low murmer of the animals talking.
“Listen up, Pack. Those lovely collars of yours are linked to my health signs. If anything happens to me, well, I think you get the picture. Now follow me, there is a situation that needs handling.”
“I thought you were going to train us?” the big dog asked.
“You won't need additional training for this mission. You already have the required... skills,” Grant replied as he walked them out to the main hanger.
In the center of the hanger was a Guardian Stealth Assault Ship. Beside the ship was a platoon of Marines and several racks of armor. Grant turned to his new dogs. “Strip down and suit up, I'll brief you in flight.” He pointed to the armor and the Marines. “The Marines w
ill help you with the armor. Remember what I said about pissing on the walls.”
“Armor is all well and good, but what about weapons?” a woman asked.
Grant smiled. “You will be given weapons before we get to where we're going. They're racked in the ship. I suggest you hurry it up.”
Once each of the new dogs were suited up, the assisting Marines inserted a small card into a reader slot on the cuff, locking the suit before they slapped the shoulder, and stepped back. The big dog that had been shooting off his mouth, turned to grab the Marine that had been helping him by the neck. In the suit, it would have crushed the Marine's neck.
Grant had been waiting for something like this, and had activated the 'training' mode on his wrist mounted control unit. He touch the icon for the big asshole, and the suited figure dropped to the deck screaming in pain.
It continued for about ten seconds, before the pain stopped, leaving the big bastard kneeling on the floor, panting. “Remember what I said about pissing on the walls? Bad Dog!” He looked at the rest of them. “Now get your dead-fucking-asses in the ship! Move!”
“Is it too late to change my mind?” one of the cons whispered to another one.
Grant hit the training button for that dog, and he hit the floor. The rest of the dogs tried to stop and watch, but Grant yelled for them to get moving, and the Marines pushed them onto the ship.
Grant walked up to the ass-hole getting shocked, and stopped the pain. “It's never too late to change your mind asshole. So do you want to stay here, or get on the fucking ship?”
The dog struggled to get moving towards the ramp. Two of the unsuited Marines grabbed the handling hooks on the suit, and dragged him up the ramp.
Grant used his comm to call the pilot. “Thanks for the ride, Candidate Cas. We are loaded and ready for lift.”
“Very well, Major. I do hope the Princess knows what she's doing with this lot,” came the reply.
“That makes two of us, please give me a five minute warning to the drop point,” Grant asked.
“Will do, welcome aboard, Major. Stand by for in system jump.”
“Thanks, I'll try to make sure they don't leave a mess,” Grant replied.