First Colony: Books 1 - 3

by Ken Lozito

  “Vemus Alpha taking heavy damage, General,” Captain Thorne said.

  Connor looked at the tactical data feeds. The cyber-warfare AI disseminated and correlated data coming in from all their sensor arrays, giving the CDF the most accurate picture possible of the damage they were doing to the enemy.

  “Proton beams are cycling through a down cycle, General,” Captain Thorne said.

  “Enable Kraken firing solution now,” Connor ordered.

  Rail-cannons came online. The Vemus Alpha was within kinetic weapons range, which also put Phoenix Station within the known weapons range of the Vemus Alpha. Connor glanced at the latest image of the Alpha. There were immense gashes gouged away from the exoskeletal hull, revealing the dark innards beneath, but it was a blackened section eight kilometers across that seemed to be the soft spot.

  “Focus targeting on that dark section off the center,” Connor said.

  The rail-cannons fired a range of two-to-three-meter projectiles in rapid succession. The long barrels swiveled from side to side, giving the projectiles time to penetrate as deeply as possible before more of them hit. Connor watched as they unloaded Phoenix Station’s vast arsenal into the most damaged parts of the Vemus Alpha. He squinted as he tried to make out the details of the visual on the holoscreen.

  “Several large pieces of Vemus Alpha’s hull have broken away,” Captain Thorne announced.

  Connor’s pulse raced, and Major Elder looked over at him with a hungry gleam in his eyes.

  “Don’t let up. Keep hitting those spots,” Connor said.

  “Yes, General,” Captain Thorne said.

  “General, we’re getting multiple reports of weapons overload,” Captain Randle said.

  “Adjust firing rate down to seventy-five percent and decrease in five percent increments as needed,” Connor said.

  There were limits to what their weapons could do, but he had to push it. They were breaking the enemy apart.

  “Multiple energy signatures being detected on the Vemus Alpha,” Captain Thorne announced.

  Connor shared a grim glance with Major Elder. Their luck was running out. The Vemus Alpha was about to show them their teeth.

  “Incoming enemy fire!” Captain Thorne said.

  Connor watched as the tactical holodisplay showed a bright flash of light lancing toward them, and he gripped the sides of his chair as the colossal blast slammed into Phoenix Station with unrelenting force. Connor gritted his teeth, and klaxon alarms blared throughout the Command Center.

  “General, we’ve lost subsection seven. It’s showing as completely offline,” Captain Thorne said.

  Subsection seven held over three hundred CDF soldiers, and their lives had been snuffed out in the blink of an eye.

  “Damage report,” Connor said.

  “Bulkhead doors have sealed off the damaged sections. We’ve lost twenty percent weapons capability,” Captain Thorne said and frowned as new data appeared on his screen.

  “What is the status of Bravo and Charlie stations?” Connor asked.

  Captain Thorne remained focused on his screen as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

  “Charlie station has been completely destroyed,” Captain Randle announced.

  Connor gasped and brought up the data feed. Charlie station was completely offline.

  “Bravo station is still firing their weapons on the enemy ship,” Captain Thorne said.

  Connor looked at PRADIS, and the Vemus Alpha was closing in on them. “What the hell are they hitting us with?”

  He couldn’t think of anything in the NA Alliance arsenal that had such a high yield.

  “Tactical, update targeting priority to target their main weapons,” Connor ordered.

  Connor clenched his teeth. They had to disable those weapons or they were sitting ducks.

  “Updates inputted into targeting computers,” Captain Thorne said.

  The Vemus Alpha fired its main weapon, and a lance of molten plasma blazed toward Bravo Station, burning at two billion degrees Kelvin. The interior of the plasma lance burned hotter than the interior of the sun. The hardened alloy of the battle-steel armor plating didn’t stand a chance as the plasma lance sliced through Bravo Station, cutting it down the middle. The Vemus restarted their terrible weapons to finish them off. Plasma lances stemmed from three main batteries on the Vemus Alpha, and they were all pointed at Bravo Station. Phoenix Station Main fired their remaining weapons—which consisted of much less powerful plasma cannons and rail-cannons—at the enemy ship. They pelted the regions around the Vemus Alpha’s primary weapons systems. One of them went offline and the plasma lance simply stopped, but it was too late for Bravo Station.

  Connor ordered them to go to their own life support. Their battle uniforms were comprised of a thin layer of EVA-suit material, and the thick collars stored an emergency helmet. The Vemus Alpha retargeted their remaining weapons on Phoenix Station Main. Connor could still hear their own weapons firing, for all the good it would do. Multiple systems went offline as the Vemus Alpha’s weapon cut them apart. The stabilizing engines were damaged, and Phoenix Station Main rolled onto its back, exposing its belly for the enemy ship to strike. Another blow of unrelenting force struck the station, and the last thing Connor saw was a brilliant flash of light before everything went dark.

  20

  Nathan had scheduled the watches so he’d be on duty when Phoenix Station finally engaged the Vemus Alpha ship. The bulk of Lunar Base was located more than a kilometer underground. They’d used the lunar crust as a natural barrier that protected them from the dangers of being exposed on the lunar surface. While the moon did have an iron core that provided a weak magnetic field to protect them from cosmic rays and gamma bursts, it couldn’t do anything to prevent the level of destruction he saw occurring on Phoenix Station. Despite the Vemus Alpha taking heavy damage, the enemy ship had closed the distance and then unleashed the full force of its weapons. Nathan and the rest of the CDF soldiers on duty in the Command Center had watched the data feeds flood in until Phoenix Station went offline. Ever since, the CDF staff in the Command Center of Lunar Base had taken to quietly working, with a soft buzz of activity that arose from hushed discussions.

  Major Vanessa Shelton entered the Command Center and walked toward Nathan, coming to stand by his side.

  “I thought I’d lend a hand, Colonel,” Major Shelton said.

  Nathan nodded. More than one off-duty officer had found their way to the Command Center, looking for something to do. Nathan certainly didn’t want to take any downtime lest all the thoughts he’d been holding at bay threatened to overwhelm him.

  “I’m glad you came because I can certainly use your help,” Nathan said and shared the holoscreens he’d been working from with Major Shelton. “These are the latest projections of the damage Phoenix Station was able to do to the Vemus Alpha.”

  Major Shelton’s eyes slid over the data as she studied it. Above the data was a three-dimensional graphical display of the Vemus Alpha, and it showed that large chunks of it had been destroyed during the attack. “Those sections toward the rear that are breaking away from the Alpha . . . are those . . .?”

  “We think they’re ships,” Nathan said.

  Major Shelton’s eyes widened in shock for a moment. “Have these feeds been updated into our passive scanner data?”

  “Yes. This is the latest iteration,” Nathan said.

  Several large ships had detached themselves from the Vemus Alpha’s main hull.

  “What would you do if you were the Vemus?” Nathan asked.

  “There would be a lot of assumptions, but if my objective was to invade this world, I’d be keen to find any hidden defenses that might still be in place. Given how this war has been fought, I’d be expecting it,” Major Shelton said.

  “I agree. That’s why I expect one of those ships to be sent here to look for any CDF presence,” Nathan said.

  “Well, we’ve evacuated the surface installations and moved p
eople into the interior of the base. So, they could look for us, but they won’t find us,” Major Shelton said.

  “Are you sure about that?” Nathan asked.

  Major Shelton regarded Nathan for a moment. “Colonel, if you think the enemy is wise to our presence here and an attack is imminent, shouldn’t we be preparing to attack them?”

  Nathan pressed his lips together. “That’s the rub. We don’t know what our enemy knows. Until we have credible evidence that suggests otherwise, we’ll operate under the assumption that they don’t know we’re here.”

  “How much evidence would you need to order an attack, sir?” Major Shelton asked.

  Nathan blew out a breath. “It’s a fine line to walk. We’ll need to maintain Dark-Star status for the time being, even as they insert their forces into orbit around New Earth.”

  Major Shelton swallowed hard. “Colonel . . .” she began. “Isn’t there anything we can do? Phoenix Station weapons did a lot of damage. If we bring our systems online, we should be able to do as much damage, and perhaps even more.”

  “If we attack now, the Vemus would be expecting it. We need the element of surprise to maximize the damage we can do,” Nathan replied.

  “If we do that, the Vemus will be able to land an invasion force on the ground, sir,” Major Shelton said.

  “I know,” Nathan said and then held up one of his hands. “When General Gates and I discussed the strategy for Lunar Base’s role in defense of the planet, our best bet was to allow the enemy to be lulled into a false sense of security and then strike. It took me a while to see the wisdom of General Gates’ thinking.”

  “But Colonel, if the Vemus reach the surface of the planet, we’d be risking the exposure of everything living on the planet to this viral parasite organism. What if it finds a way to spread itself among the creatures native to this world?” Major Shelton asked.

  “Even our scientific experts believe that risk isn’t as high as one would expect. The creatures of this world followed a very different evolutionary path. They’re likely not as susceptible to the Vemus as we originally thought,” Nathan replied.

  Major Shelton frowned. “You mean because Earth scientists modified the viral strain?”

  Nathan could tell that Major Shelton didn’t think much of the gamble. “It’s a risk. If we strike at the Vemus now, we’d do some damage, but we’d likely not stop them completely. They’d still get an invasion force onto the planet. Take that as a given. And if they defeat us, the Vemus can land as many of their troops on the ground as they want, knowing we have no more orbital defenses available.”

  “But isn’t that their ultimate goal? Land their forces on the ground? They are hunting humans after all, sir,” Major Shelton said.

  “Yes, but it won’t happen as fast as you might think,” Nathan said. “First they’ll need to assess the planet to find our cities, and that will take some time. All planetary broadcasts have been quiet since we first detected the Vemus presence. If the Vemus did somehow trace our communications, it would only lead them to communications satellites that have been powered down and put on standby. So it will take them some time to find Sierra and the other cities on the planet.”

  “I think I understand better now, Colonel,” Major Shelton said.

  “Also, if we strike at them while they’re focused on getting their invasion force to the ground, they’ll be even more vulnerable to attack,” Nathan said.

  “I agree, but . . .” Major Shelton said and stopped.

  Nathan understood all too well. His first instinct was to strike out at the enemy and try to stop them in their tracks, but the fact of the matter was that the CDF couldn’t prevent the Vemus Alpha from reaching New Earth. That became abundantly clear as the ship bludgeoned its way through Phoenix Station.

  “Colonel, we’re getting active comms signals,” Sergeant Boers said.

  Nathan looked over at the comms station. “From where?”

  “Escape-pod frequency, Colonel,” Sergeant Boers said.

  Nathan felt his insides go cold. “How many pods are there?” Nathan asked, fearing the answer.

  “Seven hundred in total, Colonel,” Sergeant Boers said.

  Nathan looked at the main holoscreen with the PRADIS output. It had been populated with the escape-pod broadcast signatures. Considering eight people to a pod, maximum, there could be over five thousand soldiers alive and in need of rescue.

  “What are your orders, Colonel?” Lieutenant LaCroix asked from the tactical work area.

  “Acknowledged receipt of escape-pod broadcast signatures. Dark-Star status will be maintained. Send no reply,” Nathan said.

  “But, Colonel—” Lieutenant LaCroix said.

  “You’ve heard Colonel Hayes. You have your orders, Lieutenant,” Major Shelton said sternly.

  Nathan watched the main holodisplay grimly as the seven hundred escape-pod signatures were grayed out so they hardly had any impression on the display. Inwardly, Nathan was raging. He wanted to order a rescue mission and get those survivors to safety, but he knew it would be a foolish call.

  “Colonel, one of the Vemus ships has broken away from the main group and is on an intercept heading with the escape pods,” Lieutenant LaCroix said.

  Nathan resisted the urge to rub his hands over his face. “Acknowledged,” he said, his voice sounding strained.

  A grim silence settled throughout the CDF soldiers serving in the command area. They were being forced to do something that went contrary to basic human nature—abandoning those who needed their help. Though it was in service of the greater objective, that was a cold comfort and Nathan hated himself for it, even if the strategist in him knew it was the right thing to do. If he somehow managed to survive this, would he even be able to look at himself in the mirror?

  Over the next few hours, the Vemus Alpha slowly approached New Earth as the news of Phoenix Station’s destruction spread throughout the base. Nathan had kept going through the data, hoping to find some indication that there were survivors other than those in the escape pods that had jettisoned. There wasn’t any. Phoenix Station was nothing more than a debris field. The escape pods had ceased broadcasting as the Vemus ship came within their vicinity, and Lunar Base couldn’t determine whether the Vemus had captured the seven hundred escape pods or simply destroyed them all. The only thing they knew for sure was that they had stopped broadcasting a signal.

  Two ships broke away from the Vemus Alpha, heading toward New Earth’s moon.

  “Passive scans show the ships are Cruiser-class vessels, Colonel,” Lieutenant LaCroix said.

  Lunar Base was still getting data feeds from robotic scanning platforms they had in orbit around the planet, and they’d been tracking the Vemus Alpha since it crossed Sagan’s line and then engaged Phoenix Station at the Lagrange point. The Vemus Alpha had decreased its acceleration, slowing its approach to the planet, while the Vemus cruisers were heading for the moon. The cruisers inserted themselves into a lunar synchronous orbit and were actively scanning the surface where the construction platforms had been.

  “Colonel, they’re charging their weapons,” Lieutenant LaCroix said.

  “Acknowledged,” Nathan said. “Ops, confirm that those surface installations have been evacuated.”

  “Zero life-signs, Colonel--,” Sergeant Martinez began. “Sir! I’m seeing activity at one of the smaller research and development facilities in sector twenty-seven.”

  Nathan frowned. “Comms, are their systems still attached to the internal network?”

  Sergeant Boers worked through her terminal and nodded. “Yes, Colonel. Comms channel is available.”

  “Put me through,” Nathan said.

  “R&D outpost eight. This is Dr. Kendra Robinson.”

  “Dr. Robinson, you need to power down that outpost and head to your evacuation point immediately. We have two Vemus cruisers inbound,” Nathan said.

  “Negative, Colonel. We’ve received a data communication from Dr. Walker’s salvage run
that claims they’ve found critical information about the Vemus,” Dr. Robinson said, her voice sounding spotty from the low-powered comms channel.

  Nathan watched the scope as it showed the Vemus cruisers inbound to the R&D outpost. They only stopped to fire their weapons at the surface installations. “Doctor, you need to listen to me and get your people out of there. The Vemus ships are doing a reconnaissance flyover. They’re taking out all surface installations.”

  Nathan was waiting for a reply when Lieutenant LaCroix suddenly shifted in his seat. “Colonel, I have a surface gun battery being brought online.”

  Nathan swore. “Find out who it is,” he said and then switched back to the R&D outpost comms channel. “Dr. Robinson, confirm that you’ve heard me.”

  “We hear you, Colonel. Shutting down the outpost now,” Dr. Robinson said.

  Nathan closed the channel and glanced at Major Shelton. “Can they make it to the nearby shelter?”

  “If they hurry, they can, Colonel,” Major Shelton said.

  Nathan swung his gaze toward Lieutenant LaCroix. “What’s the status of the gun battery?”

  “Colonel, they’re refusing to shut it down. There’s a Lieutenant Robinson who won’t comply with your commands. He’s switched on the manual override,” Lieutenant LaCroix said.

  Nathan frowned. “Robinson,” he repeated and then his eyes widened. “Ops, get a security detail over there ASAP.”

  Nathan heard Sergeant Martinez begin speaking to a security detail in the area. He looked up at the screen. “Damn it, there’s no time. LaCroix, can you cut the power to that gun battery?”