First Strike (Hammer's War Book 3)

by James McEwan

  “Well that’s good to hear,” Fiona said.

  Freya answered with a soft voice, “Hmm girls, interesting idea.”

  Thad raised an eyebrow, but then figured out she was just messing with him. “Right… now that we have that all straight, I think it’s time to get moving. The enemy will want to know what happened to their patrol.”

  The group reloaded and re-equipped for the long walk to Amanda’s apartment. Thad had become the de facto leader of the group although he didn’t know why given that both St. Claire and Kára had more experience as soldiers than he had. However, they seemed content to follow his lead. “Right, everyone ready?” Thad asked. Everyone gave the thumbs up. “Mortlock you don’t have to come with us, but it might be safer if you do.”

  “If it’s all the same to you I’d like to come along. I doubt I’ll be doing much in the way of teaching for quite some time,” Mortlock said.

  “Good, glad to have you. Now that that’s settled, let’s move out,” Thad said and then he took point once again and the rest fell in behind him.

  Chapter 25

  At the private spaceport used only for government shuttles, an army of cleaning and repair bots were working side by side an army of Vastep Nefamii. They were still removing bodies and cleaning up blood when the Nephilim’s shuttle landed.

  Standing on the tarmac was Drake, in his crisp new uniform for the New Galactic Empire. His black leather boots where shined to a mirror finish and stopped just below the knee. His black pants bloused over his boots and were trimmed with a thin line of gold. The jacket was long and flared at the hips, belted at the waist, and bore a mass of ribbons and metals on his chest. The sleeves of the jacket were covered in gold braided cords that made him look like a messy curtain rod. His head cover was a black round brimmed hat with gold leaves embroidered on the top of the brim.

  One good thing that could be said about the NGE they had engaged a talented fashion designer to do their uniforms. If they had been fighting a fashion war they would have most definitely won, as Drake looked good standing on the black tarmac waiting for the ramp from the shuttle to open.

  Drake stood tall as he was hit with a blast of air when the ramp opened. After the ramp dropped and the airlock door opened two heavily armed guards, dressed all in black, came down the ramp and took up flanking positions beside the ramp. They flashed a quick salute to Drake, which he returned. Then the giant Nephilim had to bend down quite a bit to exit the shuttle, but once on the ground, he stood up to his full height of ten feet. He was cloaked head to toe in black robes and his head was covered by a black hood.

  “Report Drake,” he ordered.

  “Yes my Lord. We have over half the world in our control and most of the Capital District is under our control. I project that we will have the rest of the planet in our control within the next forty eight hours or so.”

  “Losses,” the dark lord asked.

  “Higher than projected, however still within acceptable parameters. The planetary forces and citizens are putting up a bigger fight than we would have thought. However, they will all submit or die,” Drake reported.

  “Good. Now take me to the senate, I think I’ll make that my new headquarters,” the Dark Lord commanded.

  “This way my Lord,” Drake said as he led the Nephilim across the tarmac and to a specially modified cargo truck. It was modified to accommodate the Nephilim’s size. The back had been outfitted as a mobile office built with furniture made to his enormous scale.

  Admiral Amanda Hayes was given a static black uniform of the NGE and was taken to the senate building. She was brought to the senate chamber to sit and await her fate. She was not alone as she was surrounded by the remaining members of the government and senior military who had not joined the NGE. They all sat under heavy guard and were not allowed to talk. Sitting with that many people and not being able to talk was just plain eerie.

  Sometime passed before the doors finally opened and a line of NGE military officers entered the room lining the walkway. Following them, Drake marched up to the center podium. He gripped the sides of the glass top and spoke, “All rise and bow your heads to your new Lord and Master.” As he spoke the armed men, standing by the walls around the chamber lifted their weapons to remind them it wasn’t a suggestion.

  Everyone reluctantly complied and stood. They bowed their heads as the Nephilim entered through the tall double doors. He strode up to the podium as Drake stepped aside. The giant spoke, “Members of the government and military, your planet has fallen in one night to the forces of the New Galactic Empire. Because an empire cannot be run and managed by any one being, even one as great as I, I recognize this and thus I need your help to continue to manage my empire. If you agree to forgo any previous loyalties and swear an oath of fealty to me, then you will be given positions equal to or higher than the ones you enjoy now. However, if you choose to go against me then you choose death,” he paused to let it sink in.

  Then two men escorted the President of the Rep Com into the chamber and up to the podium. He stood in front of the group. Drake stepped behind him and pulled out his force sword, placing his left hand on the president’s left shoulder and the point of the sword to his back. The Nephilim spoke again, “I have even given your old President the same offer. Let’s see what his answer is.”

  The President stood defiant, “I will never serve tyranny!”

  “Then you will die,” the Nephilim said as he nodded to Drake. Drake didn’t hesitate; he pushed the blade through the man’s back and out his chest. A shocked gasp ran through the crowd as they watched his horrified expression. The President went ridged and cried out in pain then he went silent as blood trickled out his mouth. His knees buckled and he slid off the blade, dropping to the floor dead.

  “Now you will choose and it will be the most important decision of your life. Those who wish to live and serve me sit down. Those who wish to share your President’s fate stay standing,” the Nephilim said.

  Slowly, one by one, the people in the camber sat down. A few stayed standing, mostly military officers, with one or two politicians, but for the most part the politicians were more concerned with their own skins than standing up for freedom. Amanda had to make a choice. She very much wanted to stay standing, however she knew she could do nothing to fight back if she were dead, so she reluctantly sat down and waited.

  After everyone had made their choice, those standing were escorted out of the room and lined up against a wall and executed. From inside the chamber they could hear the sounds of the guns firing. Even though no one witnessed it, they all knew what had happened.

  Chapter 26

  Thad found their pace gruelingly slow. He wanted to move faster, but it was just too dangerous as more of the Capital District was falling to the enemy. So far they had been able to avoid all the patrols, but one, and they had been able to take out that patrol quickly and quietly. Now it was starting to get dark, and the day that Isis fell was about to give way to the first night of the war.

  The streets were relatively empty as most of the people in the lower city that had not been killed in the early hours of fighting were now hiding in shelters or their homes. In the upper city areas, although some had been killed when buildings had been hit, most had been able to shelter in place. With their building’s backup systems most had not suffered much at all.

  Normally as the sun went down the city lights lit up the night, but not this night. As it got dark it got really dark, and with the power grid down the under city hadn’t seen this kind of darkness since before the city was built.

  Now that it was dark Thad was in his element and felt comfortable enough to move more freely. Before he had left the sports center he had checked out a hunch. He looked over the enemy’s sensor equipment and found that it was being jammed by the same signal that was jamming theirs, but their coms were working. He had taken one of their radios and that was how they were avoiding most of the patrols. Knowing that they were now on equal footing with
the enemy, at least when it came to the sensors, brought a minor sense of relief.

  Thad found what looked like a flying limo that had crashed through the glass exterior of a building and come to a stop. He checked it out and found the driver dead; part of his head missing. He checked the back and found evidence that passengers had been there. At least one of them had been injured, as there was blood on the seat and a trail leading away from the abandoned car. Thad figured that as long as the blood trail was in the same direction they were heading he would follow it and if he found the wounded passenger they would render whatever aid they could, if the person or persons were still alive.

  They followed the trail of blood for nearly a block before it disappeared into a building that looked like it hadn’t been used in a very long time. Thad entered first followed by Fiona, Freya, Kára, Mortlock, and finally St. Claire covering the rear. They could hear voices up ahead and they sounded human. At the end of a hallway there was light coming from a doorway on the left. Thad stood next to the open doorway and listened. He could hear one voice, a man’s. The man was telling a story to at least one other person, and seemed to be trying to keep their spirits up.

  Thad determined there was no threat from inside and gave the hand signal to lower their weapons. Then he stepped inside, and slowly like a ghost made his way into the room, followed by the others. The man telling the story was tall and well built. His hair was dark sandy blond and he was dressed in a nice dark suit. He was so engrossed in telling his story that he failed to notice Thad standing right behind him.

  The story teller was holding the hand of an older man who was lying on the ground next to him. The older man was drenched in red. He appeared ashen and looked like he was getting pretty sleepy. The story teller reached out with his left hand and nudged the wounded man’s shoulder, “Come on Frank, stay with me buddy. I’m almost at the good part.”

  Frank didn’t respond. His eyes fluttered momentarily but then closed once more. The next sound was Fiona as she let out a little squeak of excitement, “Oh my God you’re Rod Masters!”

  Not expecting anyone to be behind him, Rod screamed like a little girl at being startled. He spun around to come face to face with Thad and screamed again, forcing Thad to slap him to shut him up. Freya wasn’t happy with Thad’s actions, “Thaddeus!” She barked.

  St. Claire chuckled under his breath and leaned close to Mortlock, “Oh full name, not good.”

  Being an Orillia, Mortlock was not completely up on his human interpersonal skills, “So to address someone by their full first name is not good?”

  “Not the way she’s using it, it isn’t. The only thing worse would be to use his complete given name,” St. Claire explained.

  Fiona took Rod by the arm, “Rod you poor dear. I’m so sorry for my husband’s brutish behavior, I’m just appalled. You’ll have to forgive him though; he’s not having a very good day.”

  Freya took his other arm, “Oh definitely Rod, don’t mind him at all. He’s been a little cranky ever since the attack started.”

  Rod seemed to be used to having attractive woman hanging off his arms because he seemed completely at ease, “Oh, you lovely ladies must be fans?” The twins said yes in unison. “Well in that case, I’ll let it pass, but you have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don’t know yours?”

  Both of the twins seemed to have gone all doe eyed upon meeting their favorite Holostar. They both introduced themselves in turn and left Thad standing there confused as if he was a grandparent and had just been handed a new piece of tech by a grandchild.

  Kára seemed to be the only one who cared about the injured man lying on the ground. She checked his wounds and then opened a small panel on her forearm. She retrieved a small scanning device and waved it over the man.

  Thad stood wondering what the Hell was going on when St. Claire stepped next to him, “Who the Hell is that guy?”

  “Don’t you know?” St. Claire asked just to screw with his friend.

  “If I knew I wouldn’t have to ask you, jackass,” Thad answered with a bit of an edge to his tone.

  “Hey, keep your panties on, I’m just messing with you,” St. Claire fired back with a laugh.

  “Oh shut up and answer the question before I show you some bunched up panties,” Thad demanded with a little bit more humor in his voice.

  “That is intergalactic super holo star Rod Masters. He’s the star of such holo adventures as The Great Star War, The Twelfth Marine, Ralnai Bleed Green, and many others. Although Ralnai bleed red just like the rest of us iron based blood species,” St. Claire answered.

  “So he’s some kind of action movie hero?” Thad asked finally getting the idea why the twins had just seemed to lose their minds. “Okay, but what about me? I’m a real action hero? When do they ever get like that with me?”

  St. Claire burst out laughing, “Really? Ahh buddy, they get that way every time they see you. Am I detecting a hint of jealousy?”

  Thad gave St. Claire a dirty look but ignored the comment and walked over to Kára, “How’s he doing?”

  She shook her head, “Not long now, he’s lost too much blood. Even if we had the right equipment with us I believe he would expire long before we could make enough blood for him.”

  Rod overheard Kára and it snapped him back from basking in the adoration of his fans, “Oh God Frank! Everyone this is Frank Boxberger my friend and agent. We were on our way home from the after party for the premiere of my newest Holo adventure, Die Alien scum, Die, when things just started exploding. Our driver was killed when our limo took a hit, and we came down hard. I was knocked out when we hit the building and I have no idea how long I was out. When I came to I found Frank bad off. I carried him here to get out of the streets, and we’ve been here hoping someone that could help would come by.”

  Thad put his hand on Rod’s shoulder, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. I would say your good byes now.”

  Rod bent down and gently tried to wake his friend who stirred, but didn’t wake, “Sorry buddy, but it looks like its curtains for you,” he said using an old theater term. “Good bye my friend,” was all he could say before being overcome by tears. Frank let out his last breath and all present knew the man was gone.

  They all stood in silence as Rod laid his friend’s head down and stood up. Thad stood next to Rod and softly spoke, “I am truly sorry for you loss, but the enemy will not afford us the courtesy of mourning. You will have to mourn your friend on the move if you want to stay alive.” Thad felt it was cold to say such a thing, but he knew he wasn’t wrong as he had heard chatter on the captured comm that there was a patrol in the area looking for group of armed civilians that may have been responsible for the loss of at least two patrols.

  “You’re quite right of course,” Rod said as he brushed away his tears, “Please lead the way.”

  Thad looked at the man, sizing him up. He appeared fit and looked like he could handle himself, “You know how to use one of these?” Thad asked as he handed him a cone rifle.

  Rod took the rifle and said, “I’ve fired a few on the set before. I’m sure I can do it in real life.”

  “Okay then, we need to move out. Rod you stay with the twins and for all our sakes stay quiet and do what they do. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Rod said as he snapped a quick salute. Thad just rolled his eyes and walked away.

  “Don’t do that,” Fiona said.

  “Why?” Rod asked.

  “He’s not a soldier,” Freya answered.

  “Could have fooled me,” he replied.

  Chapter 27

  Captain Wesson stood on the bridge of the Damocles. It had only been a few days since the attack on Nome had taken place and he was finally in orbit around the first world that could take the refugees. The comm officer reported, “The shuttles have just dropped off the last of the Nome refugees Captain. They’re reporting ready for return to the Damocles Sir.”

  “Excellent, I’m eager to get u
nderway,” he paused for just a moment to look over the data streaming in on the view screen in front of him. “Any luck contacting Fleet Command?”

  “Sorry Sir, still getting static. It could be some form of subspace interference or maybe one of the relay stations is down. Not sure, but I’ll keep trying Sir,” the comm officer said as she worked the panel in front of her.

  “Okay, stay on it. I want to know the second you make contact. They need to know about Nome,” Wesson said.

  “Yes Sir.”

  Wesson sat down in his chair and his face grimaced with the brow of a man deeply troubled. Commander Piper Perry noticed the worry on her boss’s face. She asked, “What’s up boss? You have that face again.” Over the last six months of duty, she had learned to read his expressions pretty well.

  “Just thinking, Commander. It’s extremely strange timing that there’s a Dreenoi attack on Nome and then at the same time we suddenly can’t contact Fleet Command. I have a bad feeling something’s really wrong,” he paused then turned toward the comm officer again. “Heather, I want you to stop trying Fleet Command and try to reach as many other ships in the fleet as you can. Find out if they’re having the same problem we’re having raising Fleet Command.”

  “Yes Sir,” she replied.

  “What are you thinking Captain?” Commander Perry asked.

  “Not thinking so much as wondering if we aren’t the only ones who can’t reach Fleet. There just might be a reason why, and I want to know what that is.”

  “And what if we’re not the only one Sir?” she asked.

  “Then we set course for Isis with all possible speed and we’ll see what’s disrupting communications,” Wesson said.

  “Sir, should I place the crew on alert?” Perry asked.

  “Not just yet,” Wesson said, but before he could finish his thought, he was interrupted by the comm officer.