The Long Day

by Robert Harrison

  The Tecate’ breathed with internal tubules and stored enough oxygen to survive nearly forty minutes without air, and unlike soft bodied creatures that would die from decompression, the Tecate’s hard shell protected them from the vacuum of space. The biggest threat a Tecate’ faced from being spaced was freezing. They were currently on the sunny side of the orbit, so the sun kept them warm. Freezing would take time.

  The Tecate’ latched onto the hull and started tearing at the ship. Cracking sounds could be heard all throughout the vessel. Pieces of the ship flew off into space as they were ripped away.

  Bishop realized what was happening and ordered five members of the engineering crew to suit up, arm themselves with handguns, and walk the hull to remove the Tecate’ before they wrecked the ship. He gave instructions to be sure they got close before they fired, and to make absolutely sure they did not hit the ship’s hull with weapons fire.

  Normally engineers did not do this kind of thing, but the Sapiens had no battle experience, so it would be new to anyone. The engineers put on the environment suits and a pair of magnetic boots, then they opened the cargo bay doors and stepped out onto the hull. They walked around the outside of the vessel and found a Tecate’ pulling away at the port side cannon. The nearest engineer approached it and fired his weapon. The Tecate’s hard shell cracked open and blobs of juicy pulp bubbled out and floated off into space. The Tecate’ loosed its grip and floated off as well. The engineer felt sick. He had never killed another living thing. He vomited in his environment suite.

  They continued circumnavigating the ship and found another beast tearing at the forward sensor array. Pieces of the array detached and flew off into space. One of the engineers fired his weapon and the monster took a direct hit in the crest. It floated off.

  Around the starboard side of the ship they found a Tecate’ trying to breach the hull. It was attempting to rip a gap in the seal of the port observation window. An engineer approached and readied his aim, but the Tecate’ saw him and threw itself forward, directly at him. As the beast flew by it grabbed the engineer. His boots detached form the hull and the man and Tecate’ floated away together.

  The crew continued to walk the hull and removed several more Tecate’ who had managed to grasp hold points as they floated by. There were no more incidents. The hull was cleared and the crew returned to the vessel, but a crew member had been lost and the ship had taken damage. Bishop ordered repairs be undertaken immediately.

  *****************

  On the planet below, the Doleks had regrouped at their base. The mood was celebratory and the Doleks wanted to party, but Jason stood on a high platform and addressed the Dolek army.

  “I understand the desire to celebrate, you have won a hard fought victory and deserve the highest praise, but our fight is not yet over. We learned today that the Tecate’ were about to swarm. We can only assume the same is true with the second horde. This must not happen. We must continue our fight. The time for song will come, but it is not now.”

  Jason stepped down and ordered the warrior units to prepare for another fight. After they regrouped they headed to the second Tecate’ stronghold. Like before, they waited for darkness, then prepared their units for attack. They would repeat the same battle plan.

  In the morning, as light came, the Tecate’ stronghold became visible. This was different from the cargo ship. Before them stood a huge pyramid type structure made of adobe. It was pocked with holes where tunnels allowed egress in and out of the fortress. Jason worried that a nest of this size could possibly hold thousands of Tecate’.

  The battle began as before. The two shuttles flew over and dropped a load of bombs. They made a direct hit on the structure, but it only took superficial damage on the surface. The bombs could not penetrate the thick adobe. It would take hundreds of bombing runs to make any significant damage.

  The units readied for an onrush of Tecate’, but none came. The Tecate’ held defensive positions inside their fortress. The blue Tecate’ from the fist nest had reached them, and they knew what would happen in a direct attack. They had changed their strategy. The Doleks were going to have to go in after them.

  Jason realized this battle would be different. He order his units to set up a barrier around the fortress so no Tecate’ could escape. Then he spoke to his army.

  “The Tecate’ have assumed a defensive posture. It seems they will not engage us in the open. We will need to go in after them. As you can see, the openings to this fortress are not high. They are suited to Tecate’ in the prone position. Anyone entering the tunnels will need to crouch or crawl.

  “It will be uncomfortable and dangerous. We do not know what we will face inside. I expect they are ready for us. Our losses may be high. You may face death.

  “We are going to breach the tunnels, but those who enter must do so of their own free will. This is voluntary. No one will be disgraced if they choose to stand back. Those of you who are willing to risk this uncertain fate and enter, please take two steps forward.”

  Every Dolek warrior in every unit took two steps forward. The battle would continue. Jason sent in the units armed with handguns and single fire rifles. They moved forward and crouched down to enter the tunnels. The sound of gunfire and screaming was heard almost immediately.

  The Dolek warrior aba-mon took the lead position of one unit. He worked his way through a long, dark tunnel that had several other openings intersecting at many points along the way. As they passed one such opening a Tecate’ rushed out and pounced on one of the Doleks. The Dolek screamed and an arm flew by aba-mon and fell on the ground before him. Handguns were fired and the Tecate’ ceased its attack and lay still. This happened several times along the way.

  Eventually they came to a chamber of some sort. It was tall enough to stand. Aba-mon and his unit entered and could see this was a hub intersected by many tunnels. Several Tecate’ rushed in from one of the tunnels. Aba-mon fired his rifle. Three Tecate’ fell together. A fourth rushed at aba-mon, but a handgun fired by the man next to him took it down. It fell at his feet.

  The tunnel system was long and complicated. Tecate’ were in hidden positions all throughout and made attacks from the shadows. Doleks fell. Tecate’ fell.

  It took three days and nights to clear the tunnels and purge the nests. Like before, two queens were found inside. This horde was also ready to swarm. After they were sure all the tunnels had been cleared, Jason order the entrances sealed. They brought several bombs from the shuttle, placed them in the tunnels and entrances, and rigged them for remote detonation.

  The tunnels collapsed one by one as the bombs were detonated. In the end, the fortress was completely sealed, leaving no way in or out.

  The army regrouped and tended to the wounded. They prepared the bodies of their dead for burial. Over three hundred Dolek warriors had fallen. The battle was hard and long, and even though they had won, no one was ready to celebrate. They had taken heavy losses and would morn their fallen heroes first.

  Several days had passed and the somber mood began to fade. Sava summoned the Adonis. They were now ready to gather a Dolek army.

  Everyone was in good spirits and finally ready to celebrate their victory. The mood was festive. Sava had granted shore leave to most of the crew of the Maximus, and Sapiens and Doleks celebrated together. Bishop and Asha both came to ground and celebrated with them. The Adonis arrived and the crew of the Adonis was also invited down to join the festivities. The party lasted two days and nights. Doleks knew how to throw a bash.

  As the festivities diminished, Sava, Masa, and monda-ro met. The two Dolek warriors who were part of the Maximus crew, madi-tah and manna-rah also attended.

  Sava spoke. “Dolis is now free. We are happy for all Doleks, but Sapiea is still under siege and our hearts are heavy. We must go to Sapiea and continue the fight.

  “We cannot do this alone. We will need the help of Dolis. Sapiea is far more infested by this scourge than was Dolis, and it will require an even large
r army to free Sapiea. If the Doleks will help, we can arm and transport many Dolek warriors.”

  “Will Dolis help us?” he asked monda-ro.

  “I will send out word for volunteers. I’m sure there will be many. I will have them gather here, and we will see.”

  “Thank you,” replied Sava. Then he addressed madi-tah and monda-ro. “I know you are warriors and will want to join the fight, but you are also part of the crew of the Maximus and are important to us and our success. I hope you will choose to remain with us.”

  Madi-tah and monda-ro looked at each other for a moment and nodded their heads. They were part of the family on the Maximus, and they would remain with them.

  Over the next several days, a number of Dolek warriors had amassed. As the days went on, their numbers grew. Now over three thousand Dolek warriors stood ready to volunteer.

  Sava spoke. “Thank you all for your support. Our friends on Dolis are indeed friends of Sapiea, and Sapiea honors you all. I would take you all if I could, but we have limited space on our ships and have estimated we can carry only a thousand or so.

  “We have a new method of travel, so the trip to Sapiea will be short, but the ships will be crowded. It will be standing room only, in the halls, in the cargo bays, wherever we can find space. Thank you all. Our thanks to all of Dolis.”

  They began transporting volunteers to the ships. A few hours later two wormholes opened up and two ships filled with Dolek warriors appeared over Sapiea.

  Chapter 16: Battle for Sapiea

  When the Adonis first arrived at Sapiea they received a message from the Maximus to scan for elevated oxygen levels, to detect the manava fields. The scans showed nine of the eighteen continents of Sapiea had active farms, so at least half of Sapiea was occupied by Tecate’.

  The first order of business for the Adonis was to restore planetary communications and deliver the message from the father. As expected, the Tecate’ had taken out the communications satellites. They used a crude but effective method; they crashed into the satellites with the captured shuttles. The satellites were simply gone, fallen to the ground or thrown off into space.

  The Adonis deployed replacement satellites and restored the communications network. Planetary communications were back online, but they made a slight modification to the network’s programming. Every fifteen minutes the entire system was interrupted for thirty seconds, and the following message was broadcast on all channels and all stations across the entire planet:

  “People of Sapiea. This is the creator and father from Vhamora.

  “I ask you to look deep inside yourself and find the strength to bear what is upon you now, and what is yet to come. I know the times are difficult. Persevere!

  “We have sent forces to the ground to prepare an army. If you can, find them, join them and help in the fight. They know what to do. If you cannot, take shelter and survive until help arrives. We are coming soon to free Sapiea.

  “Stand tough! Help is on the way.”

  Within a few hours most of Sapiea had heard the message. It gave the people a sense of hope and renewed their strength. Many Sapiens began searching for the army so they could join the fight. Others began organizing their own resistance groups.

  It did not take long for the Tecate’ to realize communications were back online and playing this unwanted message. They sent up a shuttle to repeat the attack on the satellites, but the Adonis used its cannons and destroyed the shuttle. An hour later a second shuttle tried the same attack. It too was destroyed. Again, they tried a third attack. Same results. No further attacks followed.

  The next order of business was to deliver Devor Bon to the ground. Devor was assigned the task of delivering weapons to Sapiea and preparing an army. A shuttle from the Adonis landed him and a large cache of weapons in one of the unoccupied continents. They helped him store the weapons in a safe location and left him behind.

  Devor was on the continent Educates. He knew this place well. It was where he completed his schooling as a young man. He knew exactly where he would start. He went to his university and contacted some of his old teachers who were still there. They had all heard the repeating message from the father and were happy to assist. Within a single day they had gathered several hundred students who would join the fight.

  Devor separated the graduate students from the undergrads and asked the undergrads to create groups of eight each, then he assigned one of the graduate students to each group. He called those groups squads. When they were all organized into squads he spoke.

  “The father and creator from Vhamora has sent me. My task it to prepare an army and assess the status of the Tecate’ strongholds. You are the start of the Sapien army. The father has faith in you. Have faith in him. He is now liberating the planet Dolis, and he will soon arrive with an army of Doleks to join in our fight.

  “I have brought armaments which are capable of destroying the Tecate’. You will be trained in the use of these weapons. The small groups you now stand in are the first of many squads that will comprise of our army. The graduate student assigned to each squad will serve as your squad leader. They will choose a second from among the seniors in your group.

  “Look around you and remember who the members of your squad are. These are now your closest allies. When battle comes it will be the other members of your squad who will keep you alive. Your lives depend on one another.

  “The squads you see gathered here form the first unit of the Sapien army. We will need a name for our unit. I hereby designate this unit as the ‘Timarans’.”

  Everyone liked that. They all knew what Timarans were. They were the fieriest predator on Dolis. It was a strong name that gave them all a feeling of confidence. What the students did not know was the special meaning that name had for Devor. His parents were the first Sapiens to ever encounter a Timaran, and they did not survive the incident. That, Devor would keep to himself.

  “Each squad must find a name for itself,” he continued. “Choose wisely. Your name will give you strength.

  “You must all acknowledge that the lives you had before are over. You are now part of the army of Sapiea. Your mission is to free our planet from the affliction of the Tecate’ and save our people. If you cannot commit to this, you may leave now.”

  No one moved. Devor continued, “Well then, we will need transportation and arms. I have the arms and those will be distributed to you tomorrow. Today, you will secure a mode of transportation for your squad. Discuss it with your squad members to see who may contribute what, and tomorrow morning report back here and bring your transports.

  “Dismissed,” he announced firmly.

  A voice near the rear then shouted out, “For the father and Sapiea.”

  The entire group repeated, “For the father and Sapiea.”

  The next morning they regrouped. All persons from the previous day were present, and several more had also joined. All had brought transport. Parked behind the unit was a fleet of various types of shuttles, all capable of traveling to the other continents.

  “This was a good start,” thought Devor. He distributed weapons to his unit and familiarized everyone with their operation. The squads practiced basic formations and tactics, and practice fired their weapons.

  Over the next several days the unit became better organized, and their maneuvers and skills improved, but everyone was getting tired of doing drills. They were itching for action, and it came all too soon.

  The Tecate’ had been using the captured cargo ships as transport. Each time they swarmed to a new continent they would do so using two cargo vessels fully loaded with a Tecate’ horde. They had developed standard tactics. They would land in an agricultural area, assume defensive positions around their ship, and march on the city center of the nearest city. So far they had done so with no resistance.

  It was just by pure coincidence that Educates was their next target. As the unit was massing for their morning drills they started receiving reports that two Tecate’ ships had landed j
ust outside the city. Devor took charge and marched his unit out to meet them.

  When they arrived the Tecate’ were already in defensive positions around the ships and in formations to march on the city. The Timaran squads assumed position between them and the city. The Tecate’ rushed them.

  The bow weapons were fired first. The Tecate’ formations flew apart and Tecate’ were scattered all about. They started firing the rapid fire rifles. Tecate’ dropped and gave out a shill squeal as they fell, but there were more Tecate’. They continued the rush and many made it to the forward squads.