Nanomachine War series Box Set

by Don Viecelli

  Colonel Tills was hitting this spaceport with five Companies of Marines with 150 soldiers each for a total of 750. The Marines live and die by the rule of three. Each Company was made up of three or more Platoons led by a major or captain. Each Platoon consists of 43 soldiers each led by a lieutenant and support by a platoon sergeant. Each Platoon has three Squads consisting of 13 Marines led by a sergeant or corporal. Each Squad was made up of a squad leader and three fireteams of 4 soldiers each. Support and medical teams filled in the rest. The Marine organization had not changed much since the Marines were founded in 1775 to fight on land or sea. Now they were tasked to defend space.

  The first shuttle with Colonel Tills and her Marines landed on the edge of the Luzern spaceport. It settled to the ground with a loud thud and the side doors opened. Marines spilled out and quickly took up defensive positions behind anything they could find.

  Laser fire from enemy positions was finding their targets on the ground. Several Marines took direct hits and fell mortally wounded. Colonel Tills yelled at her Marines to move forward towards some odd shaped buildings. The designs were alien but looked solid and would offer more protection than sitting in the open.

  The first shuttle was hit by laser fire, but managed to get back into the air and leave. Colonel Tills crouched behind a barrier and used her comlink to call in air strikes on enemy targets she saw in the distance.

  Tills watched as more shuttles landed nearby and Marines raced out to find cover. They moved quickly and expertly. She was proud of how they were performing under fire. She cringed whenever one or two Marines went down under the constant barrage of enemy fire. Losses were to be expected, but it was still hard to take.

  Tills looked upward expecting support from their spacecraft Fighter Wing. “This is Colonel Tills. We need airstrikes immediately! Targets are identified on laser coordinates. We need those targets eliminated now!”

  A moment later, Till’s earpiece crackled loudly. “Roger that, Colonel Tills. This is Lieutenant Riley. We’re on our way. Keep your Marines away from identified targets!”

  Suddenly, four Zoltu fighters broke the sound barrier as they approached the spaceport at high speeds. They fired several missiles each at the enemy targets. Seconds later the missiles exploded with large fireballs and earsplitting sounds just as the Zoltu fighters passed overhead and made sharp turns to return and make another attack run. It was a sight to behold; not seen by human eyes since the last world war on Earth.

  Tills ordered camera drones to be sent forward to find enemy positions and numbers. She watched the scene unfold on her comtablet viewscreen. Everything was in living color with sounds and information her troops could use to fight the enemy with precision and deadly force. Before the smoke from the missile strikes could clear, she ordered every platoon in sight to attack enemy positions

  As the Marines moved forward, Tills made sure the Zoltu fighter pilots found new enemy targets on the ground to strike. The battle scene looked chaotic and dangerous, but Tills knew she had the upper hand in this fight.

  Yoyka troops were experienced and fought well, but they were at a severe disadvantage. The Yoyka leaders were not expecting any type of ground assault on Luzern, so they did not have enough military equipment or defensive weapons to repel a large, well organized and heavily armed attacking UN Marine force. The only real advantage they had was their size and mean disposition. The average Yoyka warrior was over eight feet tall with thick, muscular arms and legs, large round head and black eyes, dark brown skin and wore tough protective armor. Their weapon of choice was a heavy looking laser beam gun or rifle. It fired green colored laser beams that could drill holes right through an unprotected human soldier. With the right protective armor, however, the laser beams bounced right off unless the Yoyka fired point blank at a distance of less than ten feet.

  What the Yoyka did not have protection from was the 5.56 x 45 mm kinetic energy bullets fired by the Marine M4 and M27 rifles and heavier caliber machine guns. The weaponry may have seemed archaic at first to the Yoyka warriors, but that changed quickly as the fight escalated. Besides, the Yoyka were very big targets. Who could miss?

  The first Marine squads made it to the large spaceport building where most of the heavy firing was originating. The Zoltu fighters were ordered not to fire missiles at the larger buildings so they could be used after the fighting was over. This meant the Marines had to go in and clear each building by hand if necessary. This would involve some close combat fighting with the enemy.

  “Colonel Tills, this is Captain Sanchez. Company 1 is in position at the North entrance. Fighting is heavy, but we’re ready to move forward! Over!”

  “I hear you, Captain. Hold for one minute. Companies 3 and 5 are almost in position as well. I’ll give the order to move forward as soon as they’re ready! Over.”

  Shirley looked at her comtablet. All five Companies were achieving their objectives, which were to surround the spaceport and eliminate all enemy opposition. So far the fighting had been hard but successful. They were ready to enter the large buildings where the Yoyka had retreated. Estimates from the drone camera showed about three hundred Yoyka warriors still putting up strong resistance. They were not expected to surrender peacefully.

  It was time. Tills put out the order over her comlink. “All Companies attack! Clear the Yoyka troops from the buildings!”

  Smoke grenades were fired at the large spaceport building to reduce visibility. Motar teams shot off 60 millimeter motars at heavily defended targets. Then almost 500 Marines charged forward. The Yoyka did not stop firing even though visibility was near zero. Green laser beams cut through the smoke like strings of fire. The beams of light were so numerous and moved in every direction, it seemed impossible to miss getting hit. Some Marines fell as laser beams cut through their armor, but most made it to the building firing their rifles, machine guns and M203 grenade launchers at barely visible targets.

  Shirley followed Company 1 to the front of the spaceport. She met up with Captain Juan Sanchez. They knew each other well from their time on Mars. He was hunkered down behind a large concrete barrier about one hundred yards from the spaceport main entrance. Laser fire was heavy and the sounds of battle were all around them. She had to speak up. “What’s the situation, Captain?”

  “There’s a large group of Yoyka troops guarding the front entrance. I’m bringing two motar teams up to blast them out before we try to break through.”

  Tills looked at the scene on her comtablet. Camera drones were flying high above the battle and she focused one of the cameras on the front entrance. Pictures from the drones could be accessed and seen by any Marine through their HUD or comdevice. She zoomed in on the enemy defenders. One large Yoyka was standing up behind one of the barriers looking defiant and unafraid of the humans. He was giving orders to the other soldiers to keep firing and finally looked up and saw the drone hovering above his position. He raised his laser gun and shot the drone out before Tills could move it away.

  “Shit! One of the Yoyka just shot our drone out of the sky!” Tills said loudly.

  “I saw him. He looks like their leader. Firing mortars now!” Sanchez announced.

  Two loud pops sounded behind them. A high pitched shrilling sound could be heard just before the mortars reached their target. Two loud explosions ripped through the air as the mortars landed near the front entrance. Debris flew everywhere and dust filled the air. When it cleared no Yoyka were firing from behind the barriers. Several were fleeing inside the building including their leader.

  “Move forward!” Sanchez yelled though his headset. He stood up and followed his soldiers running as fast as he could. Colonel Tills followed looking around to see what was happening. Marines were yelling as loud as they could as if it would chase away the fear.

  The Marines ran right past the front barriers. Several dead or wounded Yoyka soldiers lay on the ground around them. Sanchez’s Marines did not stop to check them. If any were moving, the Marines just fired mo
re bullets into them where they lay as they ran past them. Tills noticed the action but did not stop it. Better dead than sorry. They would round up any survivors later as prisoners of war.

  The inside of the spaceport was large and filled with hallways. Sporadic firing was seen and heard in every corridor. Tills knew it was going to take some time to search and clear every hallway and room. She lost sight of Captain Sanchez as he raced forward with his men. It was not her job to do the actual fighting. Her job was to make sure her Marines won the battle.

  Colonel Tills was never alone though. She was surrounded by one platoon of 43 Marines led by Lieutenant Joshua Mills and Platoon Sergeant Alexa Dimitar. Their duty was to protect their Colonel, which was getting more difficult by the minute.

  It was dark inside the spaceport. The sun was setting outside and the electricity was suddenly shut off. It was difficult to make out friend from foe.

  “We need to hang back, Colonel,” Lieutenant Mills suggested tapping Tills on the shoulder. “Wait for the Marines to clear this area.”

  It was an excellent idea, but Tills needed to see what her troops were doing. She called for situation reports from her Company captains. Everyone began to report in. The reports were good. The spaceport was surrounded. All enemy Yoyka troops were killed or captured outside the building. Inside was another matter. Fighting could still be heard in several of the corridors as gun fire constantly erupted. Companies 1 and 3 were pinned down inside two areas by large numbers of Yoyka. Tills ordered Companies 2, 4 and 5 to move in to support them.

  “Give me your sitrep, Sanchez! Over,” Tills ordered.

  Sanchez responded over loud gunfire noise. “We’re pinned down in a hallway, Colonel. As soon as reinforcements arrive, we’ll clear them out!”

  “I’m sending Company 2 to help out. Show me your camera view. Over.” Tills wished she had a drone in the area to see what was happening. Instead, she used her comtablet to receive helmet camera feeds from Captain Sanchez. The images were dark, hard to see and unsteady as Sanchez moved up and down firing back at enemy positions.

  Suddenly, the noise quieted down where the most action was occurring a few minutes ago. Something was up, but Tills couldn’t figure out what it was until it was too late. The Yoyka soldiers had decided to make a break and leave the building. They were losing the battle and figured they could escape by using other hallways to go around the Marines. They almost made it to the exit doors, but ran straight into Colonel Tills platoon. It was chaos as the Marines opened fire on the Yoyka soldiers who also fired everything they had at Tills’ soldiers.

  Shirley fired her rifle at the Yoyka until the clip ran out of bullets. There was no time replace the clip as a large Yoyka soldier ran right into her, flipping her head over heels. When Shirley looked up she saw the same Yoyka officer she had seen earlier. He was surprised by the intensity of the fighting. She could see it in his eyes. It was like he couldn’t believe these tiny humans could put up this kind of fight and actually defeat him. His face turned even more ugly than before as he raised his laser to kill her.

  Shirley did what any good Marine would do when faced with ultimate death. She pulled out her Beretta M9 pistol and shot all 15 shots into the Yoyka’s face before he could pull the trigger on his laser gun. The shock of what happened could be seen in the Yoyka’s eyes. He fell forward with a loud thud beside Shirley on the floor.

  Another Yoyka soldier holding a laser rifle saw what happened and moved toward Tills to shoot her as she sat up. She was out of bullets. Several loud shots rang out and the Yoyka pitched forward shot dead in the head and upper body.

  Sergeant Dimitar stood over the body and grabbed Till’s hands. “You okay, Colonel?”

  Shirley stood up. “Thanks, Sergeant. I owe you one for that.”

  Tills looked around. Most of the Yoyka that had run into her platoon were dead or dying on the floor around them. None of the Yoyka had tried to surrender. They were intent on escaping or die trying. They were only successful on the dying part.

  Half of the Marines had been killed or wounded in the attack. Tills looked for Lieutenant Mills and found him lying next to two Yoyka soldiers, both shot and killed at close range. Mills was still alive, but badly wounded. Tills was not sure he would make it. She called for medical teams on her comlink.

  Captain Sanchez showed up a few minutes later and Tills told him what happened. They both tried to help the wounded until the medics arrived. Then they sat down near a window to rest. Tills asked if any Yoyka tried to surrender.

  “No, they fought until we killed or wounded all of them. I think if any surrender, they are killed by their own leaders, so they fight until death.”

  “How many survivors?”

  “Maybe half a dozen or so.”

  It was the same for the rest of the Companies that fought to take the spaceport. The battle lasted for less than two hours. Tills received reports from all five Companies. They lost one hundred and twelve soldiers with fifty-six wounded in action. The Yoyka lost almost three hundred and sixty warriors. Forty were captured alive and would be interrogated.

  The spaceport on Luzern was still operational and electricity restored. The first shuttles arrived within the hour with supplies and support teams. Once the spaceport was fully operational, the Military Alliance planned to use Luzern for the same reasons the Yoyka did; to supply materials for fighting the war.

  The primary mission was also accomplished as Colonel Tills received reports from her field teams. The population on Luzern was still alive and recovering from the Yoyka nanomachines. The Qumru counter nano-agent worked as expected and the Luzern people could no longer be affected by the Yoyka quantum link kill codes. They would all soon recover and aid in the war effort against the Yoyka.

  Chapter 48

  Nobyan Solar System

  While the fighting on Luzern was coming to an end, the fighting on another Yoyka slave world was just beginning. This time, Vice Leader Di had his hands full. He entered the Nobyan solar system, sixteen light years from the center of the galaxy, with forty warships. The closer the Alliance got to Yoykan, the more enemy warships they encountered. This system was very important to the Yoykan Empire for its strategic military value. The Yoyka built many of their larger warships on manufacturing platforms that orbited the planet.

  The Nobyan race was very advanced in space technology when the Yoyka first encountered them many years ago. They were spacefaring and traveled far in the galaxy. The Nobyans were not interested in conquest, only trade and friendly encounters with other races.

  At first, the Yoykan Empire established trading deals with the Nobyan race. Then learned everything they could from the Nobyan master spaceship builders. As time went on, the Nobyan people thought the Yoyka would remain on friendly terms, even when the Yoyka started to enlarge their military capability. It soon became apparent the Yoykan Empire was interested in far more than just trade.

  A space war broke out between the two rival races two decades ago. The Nobyans were never interested in fighting other races and their defenses were weak. The Yoyka defeated their military forces easily and took over the Nobyan home world. It took a few years to conquer the entire solar system, but the Yoyka finally prevailed.

  Nobyan resistance grew steadily over the years until the Yoyka finally developed and unleashed the first nanomachine weapon on the Nobyan people. Millions died before the nanomachines were fully enabled and enslaved the population without killing them. The only resistance left was a few hundred spaceships filled with Nobyan people that had to leave the solar system in order to survive extinction. The Nobyans learned how to build better warships and vowed to return to drive the Yoyka away and free their people. That dream was not possible until very recently, when they learned of the Holtu battles against the Yoykan Empire. They were very eager to help the Holtu and gave them all the information they had about their solar system and the Yoyka military defenses.

  Vice Leader Di looked at his viewscreen and issued ord
ers to First Leader Miata. “Tell the warship leaders to release all Zoltu fighters and target the Yoyka warships immediately!”

  Miata acknowledged the order and said, “There are twenty Yoyka warships in this solar system as reported by the Nobyans. They are all moving into defensive positions and releasing Spitka fighters, Vice Leader.”

  Di’s fleet was 125 million kilometers from the target planet. It was still too far to fire nuclear missiles at the enemy warships so Di waited patiently for his Zoltu fighters to reach target firing distance. Di made sure his warships were spaced far enough apart to defend against enemy missiles fired at them from either Spitka fighters or Yoyka warships.

  “Prepare to fire KEM missiles at the space platforms when I give the order!” Di said looking at his viewscreen. His warships were still travelling at 90% light speed. The two battle fleets were now less than eight minutes apart. Di gave the order to slow down in order to prepare for close space battle maneuvers.

  At one million kilometers Di’s fleet would be within firing range of the enemy. The time ticked down and full scale weapon fire began. The Zoltu and Spitka fighters had already engaged each other in fierce space combat before attempting to fire upon the closing fleet warships.

  “Fire KEMs now!” Di ordered. Other warships did the same thing. Their mission was to destroy the warship manufacturing space platforms at all cost. Destroying the Yoyka warships was the secondary mission.

  The kinetic energy missiles were capable of near light speed; much faster than nuclear tipped missiles that could be set off by enemy energy shields without serious damage. The Holtu fired hundreds of KEMs at the four large space platforms. They were hard to track and be destroyed by defensive laser beam weapons, so a large number of KEMs were sure to hit the targets. It only took four seconds before the first KEM missiles hit the platforms. At sublight speeds the KEMs produced powerful kinetic energy impacts that tore large holes in the platforms. Whole sections began to explode violently causing the platforms to self-destruct from their own nuclear power plants. Within a few seconds, none of the space platforms were still intact. They all began spinning out of orbit sending debris in every direction. Some of it would fall through the atmosphere and burn up. The rest would travel throughout the solar system forever.