by Ken Lozito
“The ones behind the front line are breaking apart,” Lieutenant Compton said, pointing.
Sean peered at the area, using his neural implants to temporarily enhance his view of the approaching ships.
“They look like pods,” Sean said. “They’re using drop-pods!” he exclaimed and turned toward Owens. “Alert all commands that the Vemus are using drop-pods with a heavy concentration of troops coming toward the western side of the city.”
“At once, Major,” Lieutenant Owens said.
“Should we send in the mobile infantry units to bolster the west side of the city, sir?” Lieutenant Compton asked.
“No,” Sean said, shaking his head. “They’re still coming down. The drop-pods are harder to hit and will only fire their retro-boosters at the last moment for a hard landing. Then, whatever’s inside comes out.”
Sean’s father glanced at Director Mills before looking back at him. “How did you know all that?”
“Connor made sure—” Sean said, then frowned. “He made sure I knew about NA Alliance military tactics,” he said, remembering how Connor would randomly drill him on military tactics that Sean wasn’t convinced he’d ever use. Sean had thought the bulk of their engagement with the Vemus would be in space. He’d been wrong, but Connor had known better. He’d tried to account for every conceivable attack scenario and had trained the Colonial Defense Force accordingly. How long had Connor been grooming him to lead the CDF ground forces?
Sean watched as the rail-cannon batteries tried to target all the incoming drop-pods, but there were too many of them. He noted that many of the drop-pods were successfully landing in the areas outside the city.
“Comms, send out an alert for infantry teams to target the retro-booster assembly on the drop-pods to prevent their thrusters from working,” Sean said.
“Yes, Major,” Lieutenant Owens said.
Sean looked at his father. “I’d intended to get you out of here, but—”
“I’m not leaving, son,” his father said.
“Fine, but I’m sending you to the east side of the city,” Sean said.
Tobias opened his mouth to speak.
“That’s not up for discussion,” Sean said and glanced over at a nearby soldier. “Corporal, take a squad and escort the governor to the east encampment.”
Sean watched as his father was led away. The sounds of the rail-cannon batteries, in their unrelenting barrage against the Vemus invasion force, hadn’t slowed down. In fact, now the CDF infantry was firing their weapons at the drop-pods, which added to the sounds of wanton destruction. Drop-pods crashed into the ground and impact craters began to dot the landscape. The CDF soldiers hit the fuel lines, causing drop-pods to hit the ground in flaming wrecks, which became small explosions. Other drop-pods hit the ground without slowing down, the force of the impact shattering the pods and the Vemus soldiers inside them to bits. But still they came, and more of the drop-pods began to make it through to land safely. Some even landed inside the city walls. Upon landing, hatches opened up and large dark figures stalked out of the pods. CDF soldiers stationed on the rooftops above rained fire down on them. The Vemus returned fire, and white stun bolts blazed through the air. Some of the enemy were massive, easily twice as tall as Sean was. Their skin was a deep, dark purple that glistened in the light. Their rounded heads angled to a pointed snout, making them look anything but human.
CDF fire teams worked together to bring them down using kinetic weapons to stall their advance or otherwise immobilize them and then thermite explosive rounds to burn away whatever was left.
Multiple reports came in of Vemus forces gathering outside the city. A large explosion to the west snatched Sean’s attention.
“That’s not ours,” Lieutenant Compton said.
“Order the mobile infantry unit to the west side of the city. Get the Hellcats in the air to give air support,” Sean ordered.
He’d held the Hellcats in reserve. The Vemus drop-pods and troop carriers seemed to have stopped. The skies were clear for the moment, but that could change at any time. The high-pitched whine of multiple Hellcats flying overhead filled the air as they streaked toward the west. Updates from New Haven and Delphi reported the Vemus using similar tactics, but the bulk of their forces were here at Sierra. The Vemus had correctly surmised that Sierra would be the most heavily defended.
Carrying his M-Viper sniper rifle, Sean headed toward the barricade wall on the roof of the Field Ops Headquarters, which was centrally located in the city. He squatted down to set up his position and was immediately joined by a few other soldiers. He glanced at the soldier next to him and saw a wisp of blonde hair beneath the edges of the helmet.
“Boone?” Sean asked.
“I hope you’re still as good a shot as you used to be, Bling,” Field Ops Captain Donna Marten said. She’d been part of Search and Rescue and hadn’t left Field Ops.
Sean hefted the M-Viper and rested the barrel on the barricade wall. “Better,” Sean said.
Captain Marten arched an eyebrow. “Care to make a wager on it?”
Sean grinned. “Can we get a couple of spotters?” he said.
He’d ordered sniper units to the rooftops of the buildings and could already hear the distinct pop of an M-Viper being fired. They were three kilometers from the edge of the city and taking out a target at that range would be a challenge, but not beyond the capabilities of the M-Viper or Sean.
“Loser buys drinks tonight,” Sean said.
“Oh, you’re on, Major,” Field Ops Captain Marten said.
Finding targets was relatively easy given that the Vemus were so big, and once on the ground, they moved toward the city in a dark wave. Sean peered down his scope, searching for a target beyond the edge of the city, but they moved so fast that he no sooner had a target than it was quickly out of sight. Sean focused ahead of one of the alphas and squeezed the trigger. The high-velocity round blazed toward the target at supersonic speed, and the head of the Vemus exploded like a melon on impact as the large body dropped to the ground. CDF soldiers who were much closer lobbed thermite charges to burn up the remains. Sean updated his nano-robotic ammunition to use incendiary rounds. This would give the CDF soldiers more time to mop up the remains so the Vemus couldn’t rise again.
Sean picked another target and squeezed off a round, the incendiary ammunition streaking red through the air to reach its objective. The CDF infantry rotated between using incendiary rounds and regular kinetic rounds, which lasted longer. Sean had ordered them to conserve their ammo, but with so many Vemus storming the city he wasn’t sure how long they could last. Field Ops Captain Marten took down at least as many targets as Sean did, probably more. It felt good to see the enemy fall.
Sean wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he started to get an itch in the back of his mind that he was missing something. Backing away from the barricade, he motioned for another CDF soldier to take his place and he returned to the command area where there was a holographic display of Sierra. Computer systems piped in updates from the computing core deep within the building.
Director Mills glanced at him. “What is it?”
Sean frowned. “I feel like I’m missing something. Something important.”
The Vemus were primarily attacking certain areas of the city. The drop-pods that landed inside the city were quickly dealt with by the mobile infantry units.
He noted one of the seemingly quiet sectors of the city and picked one at random. “Ops, what’s the status of our recon drones in sector three?” Sean asked.
Lieutenant Owens quickly brought up the status of the drones. They had so many deployed that they were grouped and tasked with specific sectors to patrol. The data provided from the drones were too much for any one person to keep track of, which was why they relied on the computer system to alert them to anomalies. Lieutenant Owens frowned. “Major, I’m showing a thirteen percent drop-off in drones reporting in from that sector. The drop-off occurred less than ten minutes ago.�
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“Who do we have in that area?” Sean asked.
Lieutenant Compton quickly accessed the information on his workstation. “It’s mostly Field Ops and militia in that area, but Sergeant Brown is in the vicinity with a squad of CDF soldiers.”
Sean opened a comlink to Sergeant Brown. “Sergeant, we’ve noticed a suspicious drop-off in recon drone activity in your vicinity. I need you to investigate whether there is enemy activity in your area.”
The comlink channel opened, and Sean heard the sounds of a battle.
“Sir, we’re under heavy attack. We need reinforcements. The Vemus are overwhelming our position!” Sergeant Brown shouted.
Sean looked at Lieutenant Compton. “Alert the reserve Hellcat squadron and send them to sector three immediately.” He switched back to the comlink. “Air support is on its way.”
“We’ll hold out, sir,” Sergeant Brown said.
“Why didn’t they tell us they were under attack?” Director Mills asked.
“The attack probably came so suddenly that they didn’t have time to report it in,” Sean said. He studied the map of the city and the troop locations. “Send mobile infantry units thirty-six and thirty-seven to sector three. Do we have any satellite feeds? Can we track where the Vemus landed?”
Lieutenant Owens shook her head. “The satellites were taken out when the Vemus attacked. Backups were supposed to move into position, but none have reported in yet.”
Director Mills nodded, finally understanding. “You suspect that in addition to the assault on the city, they landed a few kilometers away.”
“It’s what I would do,” Sean said.
The recon drones failing to report in could only mean one thing. Those drones had been taken out so fast that they’d even failed to send in a destruction signal. Sean accessed one of the cameras on a tall building in sector three. Once it powered on, he put the live feed up for the rest of them to see. Vemus troops were staggering their approach, firing blue bolts of energy at Field Ops and militia soldiers.
“Good god! That’s the east side of the city!" Director Mills said.
Sean stared at the video feed. He’d sent his father to that area of the city, thinking it was safer. Instead, it was being overwhelmed by Vemus soldiers. Sean recalled that the Vemus had used blue bolts to overcome the Nexstar combat suit defenses. They were shooting to kill.
The Vemus stormed the area, one group taking out the heavily armed soldiers while another pinned down the helpless combatants and spat a blackish goo onto their faces. They quickly moved on to the next person and did the same thing. The people with the blackish goo on their faces lay on the ground, their bodies going into convulsions that didn’t let up.
Lieutenant Owens gasped. “What are they doing to them?”
Sean felt his mouth drop open. “That’s how it spreads.”
“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?
26
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 Al
pha 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.”