by David Nash
The screen shimmers in response and I see through the eyes of the Legionnaire LTJT as he performs and EVA to explore the outskirts of the battle without bringing the ships in to close.
It was a battle, and by the look of the things it was several thousand years ago. While nothing decomposes in space, the biologics inside are frozen solid. It appears that the ships traded fire from directed energy weapons of great power as there are massive holes in the ships that are ringed with carbonization. Additionally, the holes are not jagged, they look as if they were penetrated by a hot drill, and the edges look almost melted.
“Scott to command.” The LTJG radios
“Go ahead Scott” my Comms officer responds
“Command, it appears that all the ships are Barkun in structure, I see no evidence of a third party. It also appears that all the weapons fire was received on a single plane, all the hits came from the same direction, and all ships have fire on their bow or dorsal bulwark.”
“Front and top, gotcha Scott.” I say in the radio, “Do you see anything worth salvaging? Do you have any easily accessed data cubes that may tell us what happened?”
“Command, there may be some, there are a lot of ships here, but from the few my team has accessed, whatever hit these ships did a number on the computers, the bridges are all fried. Whatever weapon used contained massive power.”
“LTJG Scott, bring your team back, run through a full decontamination process just in case, and then submit your report. Tell your legionaries, I said good job, Captain Jones Out.”
“Bishop, let me know as soon as his team secures from Extra Vehicular Operations and the fleet is back together. We have a mission to complete.
“Yes Captain.”
19
Transit to Earth
As soon as we secured New Aubagne and got the engineering team working on the retrofit I left a skeleton crew to rearm and defend the headquarters. I truly mean a skeleton crew. We only left 10 humans and 2 germs on the planet. Everyone that could fit in a suit and hit the side of a barn loaded into assault ships. We all were desperate to get to Earth.
As much as I wanted to get to Earth, I knew we didn’t have enough manpower for a land battle. I have what was left of the Davis Dozers, but since they were stationed on New Aubagne, they were not an effective battalion anymore. They just did not have the numbers. Reluctantly I ordered a trip back to McCall; we would have to strip them also if we were going to get enough for a planetary fight.
The transit went quickly, it appears that the Kernel sent small forces to each legion planet and relied on a sneak attack rather than a supported offensive. We did not find a single ship between New Aubagne and McCall. We stripped that base bare also. I will regret taking my entire training cadre and only leaving the injured and infirm at my Recruit Depot, but if it saves Earth, I don’t have a choice.
Next stop was the half-way point to Earth; we jumped directly to Sedna, bypassing the Oort space dock. I took all the manpower I could spare, but I needed to leave Oort as a reserve, we were going to need those ships later.
It was at Sedna that I received the news I was praying not to hear.
The Kernel was fully in control of the all of the Planet Sangren, as the Sangren embraced the implant technology. Basically all the Sangren worlds were now Zombies for the Kernel, the Barkun worlds where we left the Enforcers stranded were also all ridden by the Kernel. The Barkun worlds where the citizens did not leave for space fared better as they had fewer implanted citizens, but those worlds were hotly contested, basically they were involved in a civil war, implanted vs non-implanted. Our Fortresses cleared the space around the Barkun worlds. After I learned of the heroic actions of Commander Baumgarter I gained more hope.
Tabuts was under orbital shelling. Our recon ships determined that the Tribes were able to withstand the initial attack because most Tabuts citizens refused implants on religious grounds. They were holding, but we did not know for how longs.
Our orbital fortresses and the solar system ports were heavily damaged, but with few implanted Legionaries and Legion Kernels (now all firmly citizen Germs) and the ability to fight back against the attacking ships, they were all able to repel the assault.
The worse bit of news comes from Earth, with the space port and LaGrange forts inoperative, Earth is currently blockaded and under attack. The Kernel is using targeted kinetic strikes against the Planetary Militia installations, and is attempting to implant humanity.
We have no time to waste.
The full power of the Legion transits jumps from Sedna to the L5 point, we come in cloaked. The strike force moves toward Earth, once again, we locate all the Kernel ships and mass our fighters around them so we can hit them all from multiple angles. This is a strategy that has worked in the past and we left no survivors to pass on our techniques.
Time however, is an issue, as the Punishment ships are using precision kinetic strikes to lay waste to Earth’s forces.
As soon as we are in position, I send the attack code, unlike on New Aubagne, I don’t even look toward the orbital battle. All my thought is focused on Earth. Renata comes to my mind. She had finished her training and went back to Earth. She is a planetary congress woman, winning her election with ease based on her experience as the Spanish prime minister; however, she is also a Major in the Militia. I fear for her safety. With effort I block thoughts of her out. Right now I have to be razor focused on the mission. There is no time for individual needs.
Unlike the New Aubagne assault, the Earth has a substantial atmosphere, so the cloak technology is overwhelmed with the heat from reentry. Out drop ships look like meteors as we fall from space. The red hot shuttles draw fire from the ground forces. We could have used the gravity plates to sneak in, but every minute we waste translates to more human’s minds consumed by the demon computers.
I force myself to watch the screen, as Kernel fire takes out several of my drop ships. I am trading Legion lives for speed in the hope we can make the difference to the citizens of Earth. It is a terrible calculus, but it is still math. We need a certain number of legionaries to make landfall, the faster we go the more lives we save, but the less legionaries we have for the battle. If we lose too many we cannot win, if we go too cautiously we won’t have anyone left to save.
Our target is Shanghai, as our analysts say that is where the Kernel transmissions are centered. It makes sense, as Shanghai is the world’s most populous city. In that city alone, there are 24 million potential soldiers for the Kernel.
We are headed toward an industrial area that seems to be the center of the Kernel communications. Through the fog of battle I see snippets of video that look like they have an implanting operation full swing at our primary target.
“Okay Dozers, we hit the ground running.” I say over the open Comms channel,” Damn killer clowns from space are down their turning ma, pa, and cousin jimmy into zombie slaves, and we are going to stop them!” I yell into the microphone, using the pure force of will to make confident sounds so my Legionaries believe we are invincible.
“Our mission is simple; kill every damn robot on the planet and save the world! Simple Right?”
A loud and enthusiastic, yet anarchic jumble of battle cries, motivational slogans, and a couple animalistic growls fill my ears.
“We are going to win right!” I yell
“We are going to crush them!” They respond
I switch to the command channel and give assignments; I am taking half and am going to assault the area where the signals are coming from. The rest of the Battalion will stop the local implantation operation. Smaller platoons, backed by destroyers, are to link up with planetary militia on other continents and locate, close with, and destroy any Kernel command centers.
We don’t bother slowing to a gentle stop, we ain’t riding Space Mountain. Our drop ship slams forcefully into the ground, crushing the vehicle it landed on as it comes to a stop in the executive parking of some type of factory. Explosive bolts blow the r
ear hatch off the ship and my legionaries and I rush out and assault the compound.
We slow slightly to stack on the door, as the breacher blows the door, our dog teams unleash the hounds. With no need to wear breathing apparatus, they wear no headgear, 15 howling war dogs burst through the door with armored legionaries closely behind.
Before we left space, Marvin informed me that unlike on earlier missions, the sheer size of the population means that it is unlikely the Kernel will use one of them to ‘ride’ one of ours. He says that it is much more likely that the Kernel have a kind of supercomputer hive mind they brought to the planet, and that several Kernels have linked themselves together so they can act as a command and control node.
That being the case, after weighing all the known factors, I have ordered the Legion to make no attempt to spare the life of the implanted humans. It is a painful call, and one that will be the subject of a lot of hindsight, but we know that it is unlikely we can ever fix what the Kernel broke inside them.
The team powers through the factory, the hover shields work wonders deflecting common firearms. It seems the Kernel prioritized police and militia first. We do have sporadic fire from directed energy weapons, which gets more frequent the deeper we go.
“General,” Marvin says through our link, “Even with the Cloaking tech blocking the Kernel signal, I warn against you going much closer to the hive brain. The signal will be immensely powerful at the source, I am not sure I can prevent you from being ridden if you get that close.”
“Marvin, if I get that close, the Kernel will not be able to transmit; we are going to blow it apart!”
We entered the factory floor, as soon as we made it inside, two Chinese police officers ran toward the team in a suicide attack. They had what appeared to be explosive vests strapped to their chests. The charge was supported by massed ion cannon fire from the ceiling girders and from behind the large industrial machinery laid out in precise rows across the building.
The human bombs were stopped by two attack dogs, as the Belgian Malinois took down the runners. The resulting explosion killed the dogs, and severely injured their handlers. The crossfire focused on our entry point claimed 4 more legionaries.
“Get Out of the Fatal Funnel! Don’t Let Them Pin Us Down! Move!” I screamed into the Comms.
With the shooters surrounding us, and firing from so close a distance, taking cover was a sucker bet. Fire rained down on us from above, and we were receiving fire from 180 degrees in front of us, out only choice was to charge directly into the withering near ambush.
The Earth military did an excellent job training my men; but the Spec Ops Drill Instructors at McCall finished the process of turning well trained men into extraordinary warriors. I did not need to say anything as the legionaries immediately recognized the dangers of the near ambush and assaulted directly into the ambush positions without orders.
We took casualties, but the pure aggression controlled by professional skill took the battlefield. As we secured the factory floor, I sent dog teams to search for booby traps and hidden aggressors.
“Sir, I have traced the signal, it seems to be coming from the basement. Again, I warn you from getting too near the hive mind.” Marvin said, this time speaking aloud, no doubt trying to get support from my commanders.
“General, we can’t take the chance, let us handle the basement.” My Executive officer said as he took the bait.
“Captain Withers, I will take that under advisement, for the moment lets finish securing the building and forming an assault team for the basement attack.”
“Yes Sir”
As my XO left to see my orders were followed, I radioed the second assault team.
“Dozer Actual to Dozer 2” I radioed
“Go ahead Dozer Actual” came across almost immediately; I could hear sounds of battle in the background, but the voice seemed calm and under control.
“What is your status? Over.”
“Sir, we have engaged the enemy at the implantation operation, and are receiving heavy fire. They have taken over thousands of civilians and we are heavily outnumbered. So far, we are receiving small arms fire, with little advanced weaponry. Currently we are trying to fight to the implantation machinery, as they are pumping out new ridden almost as fast as we can put them down! Over.”
“Copy that, Dozer 2. Hang tight, and stay with the plan, we hope to have you some relief shortly. Dozer Actual Out.”
A muffled boom, sounded toward the end of the building, I looked over to see my legionaries dealing with the aftermath of a hidden suicide attacker.
“What’s taking so long? Let’s breech this door!”
The basement team stacked on the door, with all the remaining dog teams poised to send in the hounds as soon as the door was removed. I took my place at the end of the stack. It is hard to read a mechanical face, but I could tell Marvin disapproved.
The team did its job, as the door exploded off its hinges. The dogs rushed down the stairs and took out many of the humans guarding the hive. My legionaries took care of the rest. I was reaching the bottom of the stairs as the former Delta operators called the room clear.
As my foot hit the floor I was overwhelmed with mental noise from a thousand disjointed voices. Murmurs, rusting sounds, even beeping filled my mind. Most of the voices were just quiet enough that I could not make out the words, but the voices I heard were evil. “Stuuupid, your stuupid”, “You can’t beat us.”, and “Your disssGUSTING!” were loud and clear in my head. It was hard to concentrate. I could feel Marvin’s presence through my implant. Instinctively, I knew he was behind me, just as I knew he was inside my brain helping push back the attempts to control me. I focused on the large alien machine centered in the middle of the room. It was large, almost at tall as a man, and the breadth of it almost filled the room, it was a domed topped polygon, with lights and cables poking out at odd angles. The rounded top was studded with antenna and various rounded emitters.
“Your attack has failed; it has spared a war that will end in your extinction. Tell me now what the Kernel has planned and I may spare your life.” I say, my voice was loud and unwavering, but it took the effort of my entire being to do so.
The voices in my head came back into unison. “Silence Human! The time of your species is over. Prepare to be” with that Marvin physically picked me up and threw me bodily up the stairs with his left arm while he fired his ion cannon at the hive machine with his right. My men did not hesitate, as soon as Marvin fired at the machine; the entire team lit it up as well. As the machine started to smoke and fill the room with sparks, Marvin collapsed.
20
Earth
The men carried Marvin gently up the stairs and laid his unmoving form on the floor of the factory.
I was a little bruised from his actions, but mostly I was emotionally drained from the mental fight and the self-recrimination of having to see the Hive mind for myself.
I tell myself I wasn’t doing it to be stubborn, that I needed to talk to the Hive mind for myself so we could gather intelligence, but I can’t convince myself.
“Take Marvin back to the ship.” I order the men.
I use my suit to open Comms with Dozer 2.
“Dozer Actual to Dozer 2, come in Dozer 2.”
“This is Dozer 2, Sir, when you say hold on, you have relief coming you really mean it. I don’t know what you sir, but all implanted humans fell unconscious. Right now we are dismantling the implantation machines and helping free the civilians captured by the Kernel.”
“Dozer 2, I am sending the rest of my team to assist, how are your casualties? Over”
“Dozer Actual, we are still counting, but it is not as bad as it could have been, the shields work pretty good against rifles. We do have 30 KIA, most of our casualties are walking wounded, and the nanites in the suits are working to patch them up.
Not as bad as it could have been, maybe so, but it’s still pretty bad.
“Comms, connect me with the fleet,
I need to see how the rest of the world is doing.”
“Yes sir, connecting now sir.”
A beep in my helmet accounted the connection.
“This is General Davis; we are sending up one VIP, the Hive mind is down, can you give me a status report on the rest of the Planet?”
“Sir, all teams except on are reporting in. The team that went to the US is unaccounted for. Sir, I hate to give bad news, but we are detecting strong Kernel transmissions from New York. The Germ is telling us there was a second hive mind.”
Shit!
“Alright, the drop pods take too long to reset, send me down as many busses and shuttles as you can, we will pick up the teams and prepare for a new assault. See if you can pinpoint the signals. We may have to blast it with a precision strike!”
This won’t win me any popularity contest, but at the speed the Kernel can enslave a human, chances are the collateral damage from a pinpoint orbital strike will be less than what we would lose by waiting.
As I waited for transport to arrive, I cleared my head by walking around and greeting the victims. Their thanks were almost more than I could handle as I kept thinking about Marvin.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but was only actually 15 minutes, the ram ships and shuttles began landing. Technicians came with the assault ships and began the process of reloading them and repairing the damage the high speed entry made.
When all the Legionaries were onboard we took off and headed to orbit for another fast attack against the Kernels.
I always felt it was better to ask forgiveness than permission, so I made my plans with my command team and began setting up for an orbital strike. Not being used to civilian command, it totally skipped my mind to notify the Republic President of our intentions.
The fact the Legion was back on Earth and battling the Kernel did not escape President Eastman.
