by Ken Lozito
“But the data retrieved from the Vemus ship said the virus was airborne,” Director Mills said.
“This is what we saw them do on the ship,” Sean said and refreshed the CDF troop placements on the map.
Director Mills’ face became pale. “How long does it take?”
“I have no idea. We fled the area,” Sean said.
The holographic display showed the reserve Hellcat units moving into position to provide air support. Sean’s mind raced and his mouth became dry. It was much too soon to implement the next phase of his plan. He tried to force an idea for some kind of backup strategy, but nothing came.
Director Mills’ thick brows drew together in concern. “We can’t hold this city, can we?”
Sean swallowed as he searched the map. He gritted his teeth. This was much too soon.
“What are your orders, Major?” Lieutenant Compton asked.
Sean looked around at the CDF soldiers and Field Ops people in the command area. They needed him to be strong. He wouldn’t falter now. Connor had picked him to lead and that was exactly what he was going to do.
“We fight. We make them pay for every inch of ground they take from us, falling back to this position,” Sean said and used his implants to outline the CDF headquarters. “This will be the secondary rally point. The primary is now highlighted.” He looked at Director Mills.
“Those are tunnel entrances,” Director Mills said, frowning.
Sean nodded. “They lead out of the city.”
“Yeah, but how can you be sure there aren’t Vemus forces in those locations?” Director Mills asked.
“Because we’ll lure their forces in,” Sean answered.
Director Mills studied the map again and then glared at Sean. “You never meant to hold the city.”
“Only if it was feasible to do so. It’s not,” Sean said. “Comms, open package designation Siren-B and send out updated orders now.”
“Confirmed. Siren-B package—” Lieutenant Owens’ voice faltered, and she cleared her throat. “Orders sent, Major.”
The holographic map updated, showing the intended troop movements for the updated orders.
“You bastard,” Director Mills snarled. “Why didn’t you tell anyone about this?”
Two CDF soldiers positioned themselves between Sean and Damon Mills.
“Because I needed your cooperation,” Sean said coldly.
Director Mills glared at him. “I don’t believe this. I don’t believe you’d do this . . . were even capable of doing this. How many of them are going to pay with their lives for this plan of yours?”
Sean grabbed Mills and slammed him against the wall. “As many of them as it takes to stop the Vemus. That’s why Connor put me in charge—because he knew I’d get the job done. Look out there!” Sean screamed and jerked his head to the side. “Just because you suddenly realized the level of sacrifice required so we can survive doesn’t make it wrong.”
Sean let go of Damon Mills and stepped back.
“I won’t stand by and watch you destroy everything we’ve built,” Director Mills said.
“No one will be standing by. The CDF will hold this position until it’s done. Field Ops and the militia will escape in the tunnels. Then this city and every single Vemus inside will be blown up,” Sean said.
Director Mills flung his arm toward the sky. “What about the rest of them? What are you going to do when the rest of them come down here?”
“I guess we better hope Colonel Hayes on Lunar Base comes up with a good plan. Now that you know, are you going to storm off, or are you going to help? There’s more to operation Siren than what you’ve seen so far,” Sean said.
Director Mills balled his hands into fists and sighed, then looked away in disgust. Sean felt the same way. He hated what he was about to do, but he couldn’t think of another way to strike a crippling blow to the Vemus invaders. A lot of people were going to die, but at least others would get to live. Why else would he fight?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Colonel Hayes frowned at the three-dimensional holographic image of the Vemus Alpha ship. Everyone else in the mission briefing room remained silent as they studied the same image with the same perplexity Nathan felt. He was glad it wasn’t just him, but when his engineers were confounded, that was serious cause for alarm.
“I need options, people. Anything you’ve got. Let’s lay it all on the table,” Nathan said.
Major Shelton forced her lips together in concentration, looking at Major Kara Roberts. “Can you go over that one more time, Major?”
“Particularly the part where even with the combined HADES IV missile payloads we’ll still be unable to destroy the Vemus Alpha ship,” Nathan added.
Nathan watched as Major Roberts sucked in a deep breath. “The explosive force of the additional payload isn’t the entire issue. The problem is we can’t penetrate the ship deep enough for them to do enough damage.”
“When you proposed this idea before, I thought the issue of penetration wouldn’t be a problem. What changed?” Nathan asked.
“We got updated scanning data from our recon drones, and the interior of the Vemus Alpha isn’t as hollow as we hoped it would be. I’m sorry, Colonel,” Major Roberts said.
Nathan shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. I’d rather we find out now than after we launched our last missiles.”
They’d been about to proceed with the launch of the original plan when Major Roberts stormed into the Command Center, demanding that they abort. Since she was the lead engineer largely responsible for the proposed modified payload, together with the fact that she insisted there wasn’t a chance in hell her proposal was going to work, Nathan aborted the launch. Three Vemus cruisers patrolled the area, looking for the lunar base, and their window to launch was rapidly closing.
“We still need to keep moving forward. We managed to hinder their drop-ships, but we don’t know how long that will last,” Nathan said and switched the holographic display to show the main continent on the planet. “The Vemus managed to land a sizable force at Sierra, Delphi, and New Haven. As far as we can tell, they haven’t discovered the bunkers or Sanctuary.”
Nathan noticed Major Roberts’ shoulders relax slightly at the news, her expression relieved.
“We need to focus, people. We all have someone important down on the planet, counting on us—wives, husbands, daughters, sons, friends, and the list goes on,” Nathan said. “Who do you have waiting for you, Roberts?”
Major Roberts swallowed. “My husband, Noah.”
Nathan frowned. “Captain Barker? Noah is your husband?”
“Yes, Colonel. The last communication I received from him was that they were sending him to Sanctuary to work on the power converter for the alien power station,” Major Roberts said.
“They have a colossus cannon there. Very powerful. It should give them some measure of protection,” Nathan said. He knew of Noah Barker. He was a brilliant engineer. Noah and Kara were the team that had updated the targeting systems of the HADES IV-B missiles. He would’ve liked to have had Noah here to work with Kara because two great minds are better than one.
He brought the Vemus Alpha ship back to prominence on the holodisplay. “How do we destroy that ship? If missiles can’t do it because they can’t get deep enough, then what will? Do we send four separate teams to do it? Use drills? Something . . . anything,” Nathan said and looked around the mission briefing room, not liking what he saw. A long silence took hold of the room, with no one daring to speak. They were paralyzed by fear and he needed them to snap out of it. “Focus on the solution.”
Major Shelton cleared her throat. “If we were to send in teams to storm the Vemus Alpha, they’d need to know the target depth they had to reach.”
“We have four bombs, but the trouble isn’t with the shape of the Alpha because it’s not one big ship. It’s made up of smaller ships that have somehow been absorbed into a jumbled mass. If we think of the Alpha as a large asteroid, then perhaps getting our bom
bs as close to the center as possible would do the trick,” Nathan said.
Major Roberts shook her head. “It’s not the same. Ordinarily, yes, that would work, but we’re dealing with an unknown substance. The exoskeleton grows, and it’s the real thing keeping that ship together. So while getting our bombs as far into the ship as possible is a step in the right direction, there’s no guarantee it would work.”
“What about sending the four missiles into the seven-kilometer hole General Gates blew in there from Phoenix Station? It’s already a structural weak point,” Lieutenant LaCroix said.
“Maybe, and that’s a big maybe because we can’t get any recon drones inside there to determine the extent of the damage,” Major Roberts said.
“If it is a weak point, the Vemus would likely have it guarded,” Nathan said.
He agreed with Major Roberts. They needed eyes inside the Vemus Alpha, but he doubted the Vemus would be cooperative about it. They had combat shuttles, but whoever he sent on that mission would likely never return. Nathan knew there would be no shortage of volunteers, but he’d only make that kind of sacrifice if he knew it was worth it.
“Someone has to go take a look then,” Lieutenant LaCroix said.
“I’m not sure that would work,” Nathan said.
“Why not, Colonel?” Major Shelton asked.
“If we start poking around, the Vemus will know we’re interested in that area. If we’re going to send a team in, they might as well take the bombs with them and finish the job. The rub is we don’t know if the bombs would do enough damage to destroy the ship, and given its proximity to the planet, pieces of the ship could crash into New Earth,” Nathan said.
“What if we draw them away from the planet?” Major Roberts said.
“To where?” Lieutenant LaCroix asked.
“Here. If we lure them here and destroy the ship, who cares if it crashes into the moon? Their ship would just make another crater but wouldn’t do any real damage to the moon,” Major Roberts said.
“How do we get them to come here?” Nathan asked.
“I think you said earlier something about all or nothing. We attack them with everything we have. Reveal our presence,” Major Roberts said.
Nathan thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “I think you’re onto something,” he said and noted the somber expressions in the room. “Look, I don’t like this situation any more than you do. Frankly, I’d prefer a solution that didn’t end with all of us dying, but if Major Roberts is right and we do this, we’ll save everyone on New Earth.”
A comlink opened to the mission briefing room.
“Colonel Hayes, please report to the command area,” Sergeant Martinez said over comms.
“I’m on my way,” Nathan replied.
The comlink closed.
“I invite anyone to come up with a better solution, but I think Major Roberts’ idea is the best we’ve got. We don’t have time to endlessly debate this. Time is running out, so if anyone has serious doubts about our way forward, voice them right now,” Nathan said.
The Lunar Base staff in the mission briefing room remained silent, if a little pale.
“Alright then. Let’s get to work. We’re essentially kicking a hornet’s nest,” Nathan said and headed for the door.
Major Shelton met him at the door. “Colonel, if it’s alright with you, I’ll stay in here and keep them on task.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Nathan said.
He walked down the corridor, heading toward the command area. Two CDF soldiers on duty at the door saluted him as he walked by. Nathan entered the command area and walked over to the communications workstation.
“What have you got, Sergeant?” Nathan asked.
“Sir, we’ve just received a message from Captain Walker,” Sergeant Martinez said.
Nathan frowned and peered at the message. Captain Walker had left them to search for the salvage team his brother was on. “Update the encrypted channel using what Captain Walker sent us.”
“Yes, sir,” Sergeant Martinez said. After a few moments, she added, “Relays are up. We’re bouncing the signal so the Vemus will have trouble locking on, but it won’t last that long.”
“Understood,” Nathan said and grabbed a headset.
A comms channel opened and he saw Captain Walker’s face appear onscreen.
“Colonel, we tried to reach the base when we noticed three Cruiser-class ships orbiting the moon. We assumed they were Vemus, so we came up with this alternative way to communicate,” Captain Walker said.
“What’s your status?” Nathan asked.
Captain Walker’s gaze looked pained for a moment. “We found the salvage team but they were contaminated. All team members have been killed. We encountered Vemus soldiers in one of the large pieces of wreckage.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Nathan said.
“Sir, my brother was able to learn more about the Vemus, maybe even a way to stop them,” Captain Walker said.
Nathan’s eyes widened.
“Colonel, Vemus cruisers are closing in on our position,” Sergeant Martinez said.
Nathan nodded to her and turned back to Captain Walker. “Can you transmit what you’ve found?”
“We’re running out of time. We’ll work on getting the data to you—”
The comms channel was severed.
“What happened?” Nathan asked.
“The comms channel was cut on their end, Colonel,” Sergeant Martinez said.
Nathan frowned for a moment and then blew out a breath. “Keep monitoring for them.”
“Yes, sir,” Sergeant Martinez said. “What did they find in the wreckage?”
“Brian Walker was a scientist who wanted to get a living sample of Vemus tissue. He might have discovered something about them,” Nathan said and pressed his lips together. “See if you can get someone from R&D up here. Brian’s team. Maybe they’ll have more of an insight.”
Sergeant Martinez said she’d get right on it and Nathan walked over to the tactical workstation where Lieutenant Johnson was on duty.
“What can I do for you, Colonel?” Lieutenant Johnson asked.
“We have a combat shuttle that has important information aboard and we need to get it back to base. Given that Vemus cruisers are in the area, can you think of a way we can get that crew back here safely?” Nathan asked.
Lieutenant Johnson bit his lower lip. “I need a few minutes, sir.”
We all need a few minutes, Nathan thought but nodded at Johnson. “The key to defeating the Vemus might be aboard that shuttle, Lieutenant.”
“Understood, Colonel.”
The Vemus cruisers could move faster and shoot from a far greater distance than a combat shuttle was capable of and he wasn’t sure that one lone shuttle could make it safely back to base. He racked his own brain, trying to think of a way to bring Captain Walker in. Nathan gritted his teeth. Nothing was ever easy.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Connor checked the gray bulkhead door. The repair teams had done a quick patch and then moved on to another part of the station that required attention. It appeared that the partial remains of subsection six was all that was left of Phoenix Station. It had been the centermost area of Phoenix Station where the main Command Center was located, and the reinforced superstructure was the only reason any of them were still alive. They’d been leaking atmosphere in so many places that Connor had tasked every able-bodied person not working on repairs of critical systems to pitch in with patching up the holes. That included him. The lights from his EVA suit made it possible to see what he was doing. He reached inside the supply case and pulled out a repair kit containing liquefied material that could be applied in a vacuum. Once the repair kit material was activated, it quickly adhered and bonded to the surface, filling in the cracks.
Connor gave it a moment to set and then opened a comlink. “That should do it for this area. Try to pressurize the section.”
“Copy that, General
. You might want to move to the side in case the patch doesn’t work,” Captain Randle said.
Connor stepped to the side and waited. No need to tempt fate at this point, and besides that, he knew Captain Randle could see him through the camera feed from the nearby recon drone.
“Pressurizing now, General,” Captain Randle said.
Connor watched the area he’d just patched and his suit sensors didn’t detect any trace of escaping atmosphere. “Looks good from out here,” Connor said.
“Same in here, as well. Pressure holding. Dr. Kim will be ecstatic to have his research lab back,” Captain Randle said.
Phoenix Station had been home not only to Colonial Defense Force personnel but scientists and engineers as well. Each one of those scientists and engineers believed their work was crucial to defeating the Vemus. While Connor acknowledged the importance of their work, it didn’t supersede systems like life support and thrusters. They were still focusing on surviving, and weapons capability was beyond them at the moment.
“That’s all the repairs in this area, General. Now please come back inside,” Captain Randle said with just a hint of exasperation.
“Understood. On my way back, Captain,” Connor said. He packed up his repair case and headed for the nearest airlock. It had felt good to do some hands-on work for a change. The remains of Phoenix Station weren’t quite as knocking-on-death’s-door as they had been when he’d first awakened after the Vemus Alpha had nearly destroyed them.
“What’s the status of the communications array?” Connor asked.
“They should be finishing that up soon, sir,” Captain Randle replied.
The airlock doors opened and Connor stepped inside. Once the airlock doors were shut, he disabled his magboots. There was a blast of air as the airlock pressurized and then the interior doors opened. Captain Randle waited nearby. Connor used his neural implants to tell the EVA suit systems to retract his helmet, which then unclasped itself in the front and collapsed into the thick holding chamber at the base of his neck. Connor breathed in the station’s air and could still detect trace amounts of smoke. The atmospheric scrubbers were working overtime to make the air breathable, but considering how many people had died, he felt lucky to be breathing at all.