The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3)

by Kocho Trajchevski

  There were always new recruits. The Marine Corps was expanding and doing it at a rate as never before. The reason was that it was chosen to be the earth military unit that would join the fleet at defending the new colonies and also in situations like this defend Earth’s interests and future. He guessed that the influence of the Science Fiction novels that always put the marines at the front and the fact that they were probably the best military unit in the world was behind the reasoning. Whatever it was he was glad about it. There were days when he feared that the marines might become obsolete but now he knew that it would never happen. This mission was a doorway to the future not just for mankind but for the Marine Corps as its strongest defenders.

  Finished scanning his division, Barrett looked directly at the division chief-of-staff, Brigadier General James Robertson, who stood on the parade ground before the reviewing stand.

  Robertson raised his right hand to the gleaming black bill of his barracks cover. “Sir,” his amplified voice boomed out loudly enough to be heard even in the rear ranks of the division, “First Marine Division, all present and accounted for!”

  Barrett brought his right hand up sharply in salute, held it for a beat, and cut sharply. Robertson cut his, then marched to the side of the reviewing stand and mounted it to stand to the left and rear of his commander.

  “Marines”- Barrett’s amplified voice boomed reaching everyone in the formation before him.

  “You all know the face of the enemy, you all know what he wants, and you all know how dreadful he is. Many of you have faced them and defeated them. When we became marines we all swore an oath, and we did the same when we were incorporated into the Federation that now represents all of humanity. With that oath we became the defenders of the entire human race. Not long ago we had to watch the fleet defend our home; we had to watch friends die. Now it is our turn to show the Dacarian menace that it bit off more than it could chew. We will be the sharp end of the spear that will be driven in to the heart of our enemies. We have a mission, a mission that started not now but eons ago and we have an obligation to all our dead, to all humanity to see it through.”

  He took a breath and continued.

  “We, you are a part of the Federations First Expeditionary Corps. Together with our brothers and sisters of the other countries best units we represent the best and brightest our race has to offer. We have been selected to establish a beach head on Arcadia, to kick in the door to allow the Army to land and take the planet. We will be supported in this endeavor by the First Combat Support Brigade, and, once we secure space for their operations, the Second Marine Air Wing will fly cover for us.”

  “We will take this beach head against a foe of unknown strength, with unknown defensive capabilities. We are Marines. We will do it. No enemy has ever successfully withstood us when we attempted to establish a beachhead or a foothold.

  “When you return to your barracks, you will be briefed on everything we know about the Dacarians. They attacked first and we are going to respond with full force, and we will defeat them.”

  “We begin embarking on Navy shipping in three days.”

  “We are Marines! We always win. Semper Fi!”

  As one, the men and women of the First Marine Division roared out,

  “Ooh-rah!”

  As the last echoes finished reverberating across the parade ground, he said,

  “That is all.”

  Robertson stepped forward and called out, “Pass in review!”

  The division band began playing, its drums, brasses, and skirting bagpipes sounding the chords of The Marine Corps Hymn. Battalion by battalion, the 22,575 Marines raised their rifles to right shoulder arms, columned to the right, marched to the end of the parade ground, turned left and left again, to pass before the reviewing stand, their arms and legs flashing metronomic ally.

  Several days later transport shuttles from the orbiting ships started descending into bases all over the world. The first to board were the Macedonian First Corps consisted of the first and second division, and the Macedonian Special Forces division consisting of three brigades. Along with them went the Marine Expeditionary Force consisting of the 1st the 2nd, the 3rd, and the 4th marine divisions, with two more reactivated divisions staying behind. Considering the role the Marine Corps was to play in the new military structure of the Federation several more divisions were planned. The French Foreign legion and the SAS Regiment followed soon and so did the Russian SPETNAZ Corps consisting of ten SPETNAZ brigades and regiments. Along with them went units of the special forces of China combined in a division numbering four brigades and several battalions and units of the special forces of Germany and Australia and New Zeeland. These units were supposed to be the spear head of the attack on Arcadia, the first units to establish a beached for the First Expeditionary Army that was following behind them. In total in a period of forty five days seven hundred and sixty eight thousand soldiers, four thousand tanks, and ten thousand artillery pieces were loaded on the ships of the First Expeditionary Fleet. Millions tons of ammunition, supplies and all else that was needed was placed on board the ships.

  While General Dominic P. Barrett was commanding the First Expeditionary Corps, General Christian Henderson was in command of the First Expeditionary Army and in total command of all the ground forces. Admirals Simonson and Levin were in command of the Expeditionary fleet consisting of two fleet groups each under command of one admiral. The fleet was fewer in numbers from the fleet that defended Earth but it had a lot more firepower. In total two hundred and ninety ships would compose the task force divided into three fleets. The first was under the command of admiral Levin, the second under admiral Simonson and the third would get its commander days before the attack. That would be admiral Jennings. Until the fleet met with the Excelsior this section of the fleet was under the command of Captain Kirkpatrick.

  The equipment was placed in the cargo holds, and the soldiers went to their stasis chambers, most of them reluctantly considering that it was a new, although proven equipment built on the technology given by the AI’s and under their strict watch. The pods were not perfect or as good as the ones that were built by the Alterans so it was planned that every month a team would wake up the sleeping units to check their status. The soldiers jokingly referred to themselves as guinea pigs. The few of those that had a chance to test the pods in the past gave everyone encouragement and assurance but considering that this was going to be the first time they would be hibernating for such a long period of time there were risks no one could know and predict. Not even the AI’s could establish the exact time frame when the first betting pool of the number of deaths of each wake up started but by the time when the last soldier was placed in to stasis there were thousands of bets.

  It was a way of releasing the pressure.

  July 21 2020 06:25 pm

  Outer Sol System

  “What a glorious sight.”

  The thought crossed Admiral Johnson’s mind as he watched the ships from the Expeditionary Fleet pass one by one through the warp point. He knew that he was watching almost a million human beings, the best that the military of Earth could offer pass by and he wondered if he, if anyone else would see them again. He knew that the mission was a big risk, so did the admirals of the three expanded fleets, but it was a risk that was needed, humanity had to try. He had commanded large fleets back on Earth. He remembered thinking the same thing as he watched the fleet under his command on that fateful day in the Mediterranean Sea. That fleet was great but it was nothing compared with this. As he watched the ships go by and the young faces of his crew he knew that he and his colleagues were commanders of the past, forced in to this position by the emergency, but the younger people in the fleet would be the true pioneers for mankind in space. He thought of Jennings now commanding a ship in enemy territory and of Simonson and he smiled. They were the future. But the smile was brief and his face turned stone cold after a second.

  A year ago the entire planet trembled and watch
ed as the fleet fought for humanity’s freedom. The soldiers were called heroes, and celebrated. The world knew. Today the ships were leaving the Solar System quietly, the only ones aware of their departure the other captains and the crews of the ships that would stay behind, the leadership and the families of the people that were on board. The news about the mission was a close guarded secret and the president would announce it later in the day.

  The press conference was scheduled for 12.00 pm.

  Johnson wondered how the public would react. He knew that the fear from the Dacarians was still present and it helped, but with the victory, the newly established colonies the public’s attention was turning and the support was dwindling.

  Johnson hated politics, hated the games that were played and above all he hated the politicians who tried to win the public by telling lies about the war being over and the danger long passed. He could understand the people accepting and believing in those lies. They lived in fear for years knowing that an attack was imminent, and millions died on that fateful day, but humanity had won and won decisively. There were no signs of another attack and the fleet proved it could hold its own. They didn’t know the true size of the empire that attacked them, the true power it wielded, and the cold passionate hatred its ruling race felt for humanity or the Alterans as they called them. He knew that the hatred was mixed with respect but it was a hatred that chilled his bones. This was a war to the end, a war that would not be over until one of the opponents is defeated and dead. He and the rest of the military planned to create a future where mankind would be the race left standing. As he watched the last ships disappear he prayed, he prayed for them, for the ones that would die in the years that would follow, he prayed and hoped that their deaths wouldn’t be in vain.

  Several hours later, four light years away the fleet arranged in formation and silently jumped away.

  Back on Earth billions of people heard President Carter’s speech, heard it and once again looked at the stars.

  The reactions were mixed.

  There were shouts of anger, why wake up a sleeping giant, some would say, why take the fight to the enemy and show him we are still here, why not hide and stay silent.

  Others applauded knowing that it was the right move.

  Carter just looked at the stars and just as Johnson said a prayer, he prayed for his family, for his marines, he prayed for all of them. In a million homes across the world that same prayer was said, candles were lighted, words of comfort were spoken.

  While all this was happening the ships were sliding across the darkness, going further away with every passing second, the soldiers they carried sleeping in their pods, traveling towards the future…A future of war.

  Mankind was preparing for its first interstellar war, the needs, the distances and hardships were different but the realities of war stayed the same and humans knew them well. After all, they had been at war amongst themselves since they first stepped down from the trees.

  In the eons from then, man had learned well and it was time to show the enemy. Some leaders would say the Dacarian had unintentionally helped us all by uniting us.

  The Federation had its first taste of war a year before. It won and it also learned.

  Human and Dacarian ships clashed again after eons of peace and now it was the soldiers turn. The galaxy was unaware but the races that once made it tremble and pray were out and at it again. The first moves in the new game were already made and now the pieces were being set for the second round.

  Chapter Four

  24 July 2020

  Arcadia Star System

  4200 light years from Sol

  Rivers looked through the scope at the camp. For the past three months his and the other teams managed to inspect several of the enemy bases. They couldn’t really get close to the large cities the Dacarians had built, not without being noticed, so they had to be content to observing from a distance. The Dacarian cities were nothing like the towering cities of humanity. They were big and had huge gigantic buildings, large estates that reminded Rivers of the ancient cities of Earth and the structures and buildings looked more like castles than normal houses. They were big, with towers and many windows and balconies. They were built from stone, which was strange considering the level of technology the Empire possessed. But as they watched the huge aliens move around the SF soldiers concluded that they actually preferred to build from stone. The stone was melted and shaped using technology far more advanced than the one humanity possessed and it was far denser and stronger even then metal. What was surprising was the number of other races that were present. Most were obviously slaves, but several races seemed to have some degree of autonomy or had been slaves for so long that they no longer thought of defying their masters. The team noticed several Sicarians as they were dragged towards the center of the cities.

  Rivers exhaled a breath as he watched the city. He knew that this was just for gathering information on the enemy, considering that this city and all the others would be nothing but smoldering ruins when the fleet arrived. He noticed several rail gun and plasma batteries but they were no match for the power that would descend upon them in several more months.

  He had just two more members of his squad with him the rest were out inspecting another site.

  He turned towards Kelly and signaled him with his hand to retreat. He knew that Doc is watching and as they retreated back in to the jungle he heard the sniper closing in.

  The seals moved fast through the jungle, they knew it well after all this time. They were experts at concealment and surviving in every environment, had years of experience from numerous missions back on Earth, and as they spent months here they came to the conclusion that although the jungle here had its own dangers the jungles back on Earth were far more inhospitable. Rivers smiled as he noticed Doc carrying two small rabbits as he came in sight. He smiled at the description as well considering that the creatures were anything but rabbits although they were as fast. They had grey fur and a row of nasty teeth, four small agile legs and two front legs that could be used as hands. They had long ears and a pair of really sharp teeth that could shed the meat to the bone if one was not careful. The creatures head reminded him of a rat. But they had a tasty white meat.

  He nodded to Doc who nodded back and all three started backing away silently towards the rendezvous point. He wondered what Anderson and the rest of the team discovered at the second point. It was one of the slave camps placed about thirty miles to the south. The team separated yesterday and they were supposed to meet in two hours. He wanted to know what was happening in that camp. There were two more a little further away. They were big camps some almost as big as the city he was just watching. All the other teams reported noticing camps like that in the vicinity of the cities. Some far bigger placed close to the mountains and several mines that were observed from orbit.

  The teams also noticed and observed several of the military bases that were close to their positions. The defenses of the camps were impressive to say the least. They were well situated and had equipment and defenses to deter almost any kind of attack. They even noticed shield emitters that showed they were prepared for the eventuality of space attack. The emitters were found only at the three largest bases, but all the bases had huge plasma batteries that could easily take out or severely damage a ship in orbit. The jungles around the bases were cleared for several miles creating a large killing field that was covered with overlapping fields of fire. They didn’t notice any mine fields but the extension of the ground defenses, especially of the bases placed deep in to the jungle away from the cities indicated the presence of at least some resistance. His teams tried locating it but so far they were unsuccessful. They had some leads from the bases and villages deep in the jungle away from the Dacarian cities and main bases and he planned to investigate them.

  As he moved he recalled the investigation of the base that Aria suggested. They tried to investigate it but couldn’t get close enough to enter inside it at least the de
ep parts. The Dacarian base was placed around it and actually inside of it. It was the second largest base on the planet and it was by far the strongest. It was more than obvious that the Dacarians knew its purpose and function. The team tried several times and he planned to have another go before the fleet arrived with more men. There were no fatalities in any of the teams in the past months although there were several injuries. They managed to avoid any contact with the enemy so far and they stayed under the radar always moving, using the communications gear rarely and only in short intervals so that it wouldn’t be detected. The Dacarians had regular patrols both around the bases and in to the deeper jungle and shuttles flew regularly in the deeper jungle Rivers wanted to investigate. Several of them were noticed returning with obvious damage so it was obvious that someone was fighting a guerrilla war against them. Rivers hopped that they would be able to find them and use them. He planned a whole variety of surprises in that case for the Dacarians. From their movements it was obvious that they were the undisputed masters of this world and knowing the situation there was no reason for them to worry. The world was deep in what was Dacarian territory. It could be called a border world but there was no power to challenge them close by and it was obvious that it was under their control for a long time.

  They reached the rendezvous point before Anderson and his team arrived. Rivers check his watch. They still had fifteen minutes to kill. Doc laid their dinner on the ground and disappeared in to the jungle.

  “It seems we are early today.”

  Kelly’s sharp voice boomed behind Rivers. As Rivers turned, the big man flashed him a toothy smile. Kelly was big at least a head taller than Rivers. He was five years younger than him. The stealthy uniform hid a well-muscled body. He shouldered his gun, a modified enhanced version of the M4A1 carbine capable of firing the new armor piercing ammunition. The M4A1 was the favorite weapon of every Navy Seal, as it was ideal for fighting in all environments. He also carried a shotgun and several pistols and knives. He pulled one of them now and started cleaning the skin from the “rabbits”.